BQEYZ Winter

BQEYZ WINTER​

As my friend says “ It is the Moondrop Blessing 2 unsung rival… ”
Pros:
+ Great technical performance, on-par with Moondrop Blessing 2.
+ Great detail handling.
+ Intimate, engaging, fun Set with good vocals.
+ Distinctive Instrumental replay.
+ Clean sounding sets.

Cons:
- Not the most lush and rich mid-range/vocals.
- Narrow sound-stage.
- Prone to sibilance.
- Treble elements can be abit sharp and aggressive depending on library/ears-sensitivity
- Potential fit issue, peculiar shell design.

[MY PERSONAL HEAD-FI GRADING]
1 ★ - Appalling! Please Avoid This!
2 ★★ Subpar Offering, There Are Better Options Out There!
3 ★★★ Decent With Some Caveats! You Should Consider This !
4 ★★★★ Solid ! This Should Be In Your Shortlist
5 ★★★★★ Class Leading! You Should Go Right Ahead & Buy One!

BQEYZ WINTER 4 ★★★★​

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SOUND SIGNATURE:​

An intimate bright-mild V-shaped, tuned to be fun and engaging without sacrificing it’s vocal/mid-range prowess.

BASS:​

On paper, the bassline seems weak. But in reality, they're far from sounding anemic or lymphatic in its response. To my ears, the bass energy is pretty strong and quite forward in the mix, much more than the measurement would suggest. The sub-bass and mid-bass have good balance as they don’t seem to overpowering each. The slight roll-off on the sub-bass still offers a decent sense of rumble. The mid-bass presence is rather good. However, the overall impact is on the tamer side. The punch and slam are quite soft. The bass texture and layering are mediocre at best. It is just a solid, clean and well controlled bassline. Overall, the bass quality is pretty solid, aligned with the rest of its qualities which is to say it’s not lacking.

MIDS:​

The core strength of Winter lies here. The mid-range detail and resolution are quite outstanding. It has great transparency which gives its vocals and instruments a great sense of detailing. The vocals are quite forward in the mix. Having said that, it is not a true vocal/mid-centric set like the Moondrop Blessing 2 or the Thieaudio Oracle, where the mid-range governs and envelope your music. Although there's not much warmth to carry from the lows, the male vocals are rather convincing still. The have just about enough fullness and presence not to fall short. Yes, it is on the leaner side of the spectrum but to my ears, they don't suffer much from dryness or thinness to bring detriment. The female vocals on the hand, performed with brilliance. Their voices have great low and high note range. They sing effortlessly with emotion. On duet, male vocalist might struggle just a little to keep up with those angelic voices. Instrument such as piano, guitars and violins, they have realistic attack, decay and extension without overpowering the vocals. When it comes to mid-range instrumental replay, the Kinera Idun Golden is still the one to beat. With the Idun, you don't just hear it, you feel it with your eardrums. All and all, its mid-range prowess is nothing short of competent.

HIGHS:​

There are some parts of which are very good and there are parts of it that I am not so sure about. First thing first, it has such a great top-end extension. It is airy yet sparkling with treble energy and you feel it. The treble is pretty clean, void of any grain or distortion. The treble clarity is pretty decent allowing it to highlight micro-detail with good level of transparency. Synthetic noise such as electronics are quite pleasing to listen to. Those zings have a nice rounded edge to them. They don't sound overly sharp or piercing which is great. However, it has to be said that, it is not the smoothest or the most even sounding treble in its class. I still think the AFUL Performer5’s treble is the most refine in its class albeit it being on the darker side. One of the downside of Winter, it is quite prone to sibilance but bearable. Some parts of the instruments such as drum hits, constant hi-hats and cymbals can sound a tad too aggressive/forward in the mix especially when trying to listen to some classical pop or j-rock songs on higher volume. Depending on your library it can get quite fatiguing rather quickly. Perhaps, this is unique to the “Bone-Conduction” driver. I don’t have much experience to actually comment on Its quality. Having said that, this essence of treble might satisfy treble-heads. Though, it holds no allure for whom sensitive to treble. I just wish the treble response is little bit smoother so that those instruments won’t come across as being peaky or hot to my ears. In short, it is quite the energetic treble, that is tastefully done without overbearing brightness.

TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE:​

One of the weakest points on Winter is in fact, the soundstage. It just doesn’t sound as open or spacious as some of its main rivals. It just lacks the width it needs. As a result, the vocals and instrument are very intimate in the mix. They sit very closely as the stage gets occupied. Despite that, each element is very well separated within that tight of spaces. However, on some instances, the vocals are struggling to maintain their territory when the instruments get too overwhelming in the mix which is inevitable, considering the stage aren't that big on the grand scheme of things.
The stereo Imaging is not bad either. It is not laser-sharp but it is pretty accurate to say the least. It is potent enough to tell the direction of each sound elements when you closed your eyes.
As for instrumental replay, it is definitely one of the best in its class. The instrument has excellent tone and timbre. It had none of that of that blunted or dull impression and feeling that you get in some of its rival, thanks to its dynamic transient. Every note hit is very distinct.
Overall, it’s detail retrieval is pretty impressive. Seemingly on par with most of its rivals. On busier tracks, it’s resolving power can struggle just a little. Especially, when the bass and treble element gets overload in the mix. Everything just starts to sound like it is slowly jumbling together where borders of each element are getting more and more blurry. This level of composure is perfectly normal for its class, considering its simple driver setup.

Can it outperformed it's rival?​

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VS SEAUDIO BRAVERY AE​

The 1st thing you’ll notice, that the bass and treble have less emphasis on the Bravery. The aggression on the treble region is seemingly less. They took a step back in the mix, letting it's mids/vocal to fill your music space. Whereas in Winter, the bass, the mids, and the treble are more intimate.

While we’re on subject, the treble on the Bravery is definitely smoother, more even sounding and could be perceived as less bright. Instruments like drums, hit-hats and cymbals are less intrusive but well defined. All of that translate to the more pleasant treble experience. Unfortunately, there is a thin layer of haze/micro-grains coming from the treble itself. It is noticeable when jumping back-to-back from Winter. Depending on your music, it is negligible.

As mentioned, it is the more vocal/mid-centric than Winter. I actually prefer how the vocals is presented on the Bravery, as it covers your music field more dominantly within the soundscape which very reminiscing the likes of Moondrop Blessing 2s. Whereas, the vocals on Winter will sound a tad smaller and more centralized in your head-stage. However, the vocals on Winter sound fuller and ever so slightly better in texturing. Depending on your music, the leaner, smoother and airier vocals of Bravery can work wonders. With this aspect, they do trade blows really well, as ones could actually prefer one over the other.

Surprisingly, the bass quality is pretty decent for BA bass standpoint. But it just cannot hold the candle to the Winter's DD bassline. The bass on Winter just sounds more natural and a bit more impactful on its attack. The bass on the Bravery can get a quite muddy and boomy especially where there are ample of bass elements in your music. But I will say though, the bass energy on Bravery is seemingly stronger but fall short in terms of texturing, layering and control.

Microdetails are slightly lower on the Bravery. It just doesn’t have that transparency and clarity that the Winter possessed.
The Instrument timbre/note definition on Winter are noticeably more realistic and much more distinctive on note hits. Any instrument that lives above bass region will tend sound crispier and clearer on Winter.

The Bravery is definitely more open sounding. The height and depth turned out to be on par but the Bravery provides a wider sense of staging.
The Bravery seems to have better composure on reproducing more complex passages. Instrument separation will come across more consistent not matter how busy your music gets. It manages to maintain the border of each sound component with better resolve. Its imaging prowess is not as good as the one on Winter, the direction or positioning of sound is a bit blurry by comparison.



VS MOONDROP BLESSING 2 [NON-DUSK]
Instantly you feel like a huge downgrade in bass quality. The Blessing 2 bass response sounds unnatural and poorly textured. I would rather listen to the Bravery BA Bass for that matter. It is one the worst DD bass I've heard till this day. Even my 10$ Tanchjim Zero is far cry better than this. It is truly appalling. It just sounds low-res. The slams, the punch, the thump just doesn’t get materialized when you want it to be. All you ever going to hear is the bass droning in sadness.

Like the Bravery, the Blessing 2 is still the more vocal/mid-centric set of the bunch. Oddly enough, the vocals on Winter actually sounds fuller and richer in tone carried by its superior lower harmonics. The mid-range clarity allows Winter to extract nuances from the vocals with ease. As a result, vocal texturing is definitely better on Winter. And the same can be said with the instrument. The Blessing 2 vocals can come across as hollow at times. This discovery had left me with a bit of a surprise. The Blessing 2 was highly regards for its vocal/mid-range prowess. The BQEYZ Winter is one of the very few sets that can trade-blows with the Blessing 2 in vocals department which is no easy feat especially within this price bracket.

As for the treble performance, the Blessing 2 is slightly brighter in tone but it is smoother, gentler to the touch. Therefore, the treble is much more pleasing and less fatiguing to listen to. It is also much more forgiving to sibilance artifact as well.

As for instrumental replay, the Winter is the better set. The Blessing 2 sounded less natural mainly due to that appalling bass quality. It used to be acceptable back in those days but in today's market, it is quite hard to turn a blind eye to that. Moondrop really need to address this issue with the upcoming Blessing 3.Thankfully they did!
The Blessing 2 soundstage is noticeably more open and spacious. The imaging and layering prowess seems to be on par with the Winter. However, when it comes to resolving power, the Blessing 2 still holds the upper hand when trying to reproduce a highly complex track. The speed and detail handling of the Blessing 2 is much more consistent. You could hardly face any congestion or compression issue with the Blessing 2. Also, it's worth calling out, that driver coherency of the Blessing 2 is not the best. It is quite apparent when coming from a dynamic driver-based set. The bass phasing is somewhat disjoint from the mids and treble. It just cannot go unnoticed once you've heard it.

At this point, the Blessing 2 is pretty much overrated. It used to be great few years ago. But today, I just don't see myself recommending this set as much, especially when the BQEYZ Winter exist. However, if all you ever care is vocal/mid-range, you might prefer the Blessing 2 still, as it is tuned to be the better mid-centric set-in mind. But if you're looking for fun and all-rounder set, the Winter is the one to go. Despite sounding slightly more V-shaped, it just offers a better sound quality from end to end. And it is quite a lot cheaper as well. I will be hard-pressed not to buy the Winter over the Blessing 2. An absolutely impressive set from BQEYZ. I love it!

CONCLUSION:​

As I am surely, you’d agree, the BQEYZ Winter is an impressive earphone. Within this price-range, It is one of the very few non-planar set that can trade-blows with the Moondrop Blessing 2 on technical aspect, which is no easy feat. The last contender who tried to challenge the Blessing 2’s technical performance was the Aful Peformer5 and it didn’t perform as well as it hyped up to be. But it is not the case with the Winter. I am quite surprised that it didn’t get the recognition that it deserved. By right, with this level of performance it should have gotten more attention than the Aful Peformer5.It is truly underrated. I am so glad that Andy loaned it to me or else I would have been kept in the dark without knowing this hidden gem exist. As for the readers out there, if you’re looking for a fun set that cost under 250$, please do consider the BQEYZ Winter. It can play all walks of genre with no fuss. And it is rather technical yet highly musical. The more I spent time with it, the more I like it. Words doesn’t need any longer than that.

SOURCE & GEARS​

Native FLAC Files [44.1Khz 16bits-96Khz 24bits]
Foobar2000 [Laptop] [Ugreen USB C Adapter]
Huawei P20 PRO [Phone][ App- Foobar2000]
Dongle DAC/AMP only :
Moondrop DAWN 4.4
Tanchjim SPACE
Tempotec Sonata E44

PLAYLIST (AS TESTED)​

1982 Chicago - Greatest Hits (album) - Hard to say I'm sorry.
2009 Greatest Maksim (album) – Exodus
2010 Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou (OST) - Kokoro no Oku De Ha
2012 To Love-Ru Darkness OP - Ray - RAKUEN PROJECT
2014 Grabbitz - Here with you now.
2019 Blade & Soul (OST) - Half-Moon Lake
2021 OWV - CHASER (album) Fifth Season.
2021 SELECTION PROJECT Vol.1 - Only one yell -天沢灯ソロver.-
2022 Belle (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) - Million Miles Away (ENG vers.)
2022 rei (E-girls) - Just Wanna Sing (album) – IDNY, Dark Hero.
2022 SHINEPOST TINGS - Yellow Rose
2022 I can fly (Special Edition) - Bleecker Chrome - You will shine
2022 I can fly (Special Edition) - YOSHIKI EZAKI x Bleecker Chrome - UP
2022 BEAST TAMER (OST) - じんわり感じている幸せ
2023 La prière - Sweet Dreams
2023 Bungou Stray Dogs 4th Season ED - Luck Life - しるし

[IEM-SCORING-BOARD]​

RATING
1: Trash (F)
2: Horrible (E)
3: Bad (D)
4: Subpar (C)
5: Decent/Average (B)
6: Good (A-)
7: Great (A)
8: Superb. (A+)
9: Masterclass/Top-Drawer (S)
10: Perfection (P)

BQEYZ WINTER [1DD-1PZT BC]
Tuning: Bright-Mild V-Shaped
= Tonality =
Bass: 5.5/10 Mids: 6/10 Treble: 6/10
Male : Female: 6 : 6
= Technicalities =
Timbre/Note Weight: 7/10
Detail : Resolve: 6.5 : 6
Layering & Separation: 6/10
Head-stage: 5.5/10
Transient/Attack: 6/10
Stereo Imaging 5.5/10
Ambience: 6/10
Cleanliness: 9/10
Value: 8/10
Personal Enjoyment: 7/10

SETUP (As tested)
- Stock SPC Cable 3.5 SE
- Spinfit CP100 (M)
- Tanchjim SPACE/ Moondrop DAWN 4.4

Pros:
+ Great technical performance, on-par with Blessing 2.
+ Great detail handling.
+ Intimate and engaging, a fun set with good vocals.
+ Distinctive Instrumental replay.
+ Clean sounding sets.

Cons:
- Not the most lush and rich mid-range/vocals.
- Noticeably narrow sound-stage.
- Prone to bearable sibilance.
- Treble elements can be abit sharp and aggressive depending on library/ears-sensitivity
- Potential fit issue, peculiar shell design.


SEEAUDIO BRAVERY AE [4BA]
Tuning: Neutral-Bright
=Tonality=
Bass: 5/10 Mids: 6/10 Treble: 6/10
Male : Female: 6 : 6.5
=Technicalities=
Detail : Resolve: 6 : 6
Timbre/Note Weight: 6/10
Layering & Separation: 6/10
Head-stage: 6/10
Transient/Attack: 5.5/10
Stereo Imaging 5/10
Cleanliness: 6/10
Value: 7/10
Personal Enjoyment: 5/10

SETUP (As tested)
- Stock Hakugei Cable 3.5/4.4
- CP100 (S)
- Tanchjim SPACE/ Moondrop DAWN 4.4

Pros:
+ A well balance set.
+ Decent BA Bass.
+ Vocal set with good mid-range resolution.
+ Smooth treble response.

Cons:
- BA Bass.Good energy but lacks texture and control.
- A hint of haze/micro-grains on vocals and treble consistently.
- Potential fit issue, vacuum sensation.


Moondrop Blessing 2 [1DD-4BA]

Tuning: Neutral-Bright
= Tonality =
Bass: 4/10 Mids: 6/10 Treble: 6/10
Male/Female: 6/6
= Technicalities =
Detail : Resolve: 6 : 6
Timbre/Note Weight: 6/10
Layering & Separation: 7/10
Head-stage: 6.5/10
Transient/Attack: 6/10
Ambience: 5/10
Stereo Imaging: 6.5/10
Cleanliness: 7/10
Value: 7/10.
Personal Enjoyment: 5/10

SETUP (As tested)
- Moondrop PCC 3.5/4.4
- Spinfit CP100 (M)
- Tanchjim SPACE

Pros:
+ Great technical performer.
+ Vocal/Mid-range focus set.

Cons:
- Poor bass texturing for a DD.
- Not the most natural timbre.
- Not the most coherent hybrid.
- A hint of grain on vocals, sometimes.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING!

This BQEYZ Winter IEM Review was originally posted on my website.​

About the BQEYZ Winter​

Company Overview​

BQEYZ (Best Quality Earphones For You), a company based in China, is not a newcomer to this hobby. They have been releasing various IEMs such as their Season line-up starting with Spring 1 (which I previously owned), Spring 2, Summer, Autumn, and now Winter, KC2 (their most popular set as far as I know), Topaz, and lots more.

Specifications​

• Impedance: 38Ω
• Sensitivity: 113dB
• Frequency: 5-40KHz
• Cable Length: 1.2m
• Connector Type: 0.78mm-2 Pin
• Plug Type: 2.5/3.5/4.4mm available (4.4mm is what I currently have)
• Driver Units: 1 Dynamic Driver + 1 Bone Conduction Driver

What’s Inside the Box​

• Hard carrying case
• Cable
• Cleaning brush
• Eartips (Generic, Atmosphere, & Reference)
• Foam Eartips
• IEMs

Review​

The source I used for this test is my Cayin N6ii Digital Audio Player (DAP). I used the Winter with the Tri Clarion ear tips (M) as they are the only tips that make the set stay comfortable in my ears.

Frequency Graph​

Frequency response courtesy of Practiphile.

Experience​

I tried various ear tips on this set including its stock offering but I find them uncomfortable. The only ear tips that worked for me are the Tri Clarion which I can now wear the Winter all day. Plus these sets have an inoffensive sound signature which is ideal for long listening sessions. I find the cable to be stiffer than I want it to be but that’s just a nitpick. The cable is well-made.

Music​

The BQEYZ Winter has a noticeable roll-off in the sub-bass region, which may be perceived as lacking in depth. The primary focus of this IEM is on the mid-bass. If you prefer IEMs with powerful and well-extended sub-bass, you might want to consider alternatives like the Aful Performer 5.

While listening to Taylor Swift’s “State of Grace (Taylor’s Version)”, the mid-bass delivers a punchy response. However, it becomes apparent that there is some noticeable bleed into the lower mids due to a lack of control resulting in a slight muddiness in the track.

Mids are where the Winter shines. Vocals especially in the Jazz genre such as Laufey’s are intimate, clear, and well-separated. The mids are forward in the mix, it’s as if the vocalist is right beside you singing. There’s not much I could say in this department, I have always loved BQEYZ’s way of presenting their mids.

Vocal lovers, rejoice!

On the treble side, I’d say it is on the tamed side. I myself love some more extension, sparkle, and air but the benefit is that you can wear these IEMs throughout your 8-hour shift with no fatigue, thanks to the smooth treble response. You won’t hear sibilance on this set.

The soundstage of the Winter is average. There’s enough room for each instrument so they won’t sound congested. Even listening to Deathcore tracks like Lorna Shore’s “To The Hellfire”, each instrument can still be pinpointed and not overlap each other.

Gaming​

Imaging in the Winter is just average. Playing Overwatch with these sets I can still pinpoint the direction of the opposing team but not at the same level as the Softears Studio 4 which is kinda understandable as it costs twice the price of the Winter.

It’s also not as good as the SeeAudio Bravery AE which is by far the best in terms of imaging and vertical performance.

Conclusion​

All in all, I love listening to these inoffensive-sounding IEMs. The BQEYZ Winter would be great for vocal-centric genres such as Vocal Jazz. Despite the noticeable bleed in the lower mids, I still pick these IEMs because I find their intimate mids special and overall relaxed listening due to their somewhat neutral tuning with no emphasis on bass or treble. The note weight on this is also thick partly due to the mid-bass bleed.

I do not have firsthand experience with bone conductors so I cannot comment in that regard.

BQEYZ Winter ($239): The End Of It All?


Winter



Intro:

This culminates the seasonal cycle for BQEYZ, and that makes me sort of sad. But, the end of one run means something else is hopefully in the works. With each seasonal iteration, the sound was different. Some liked certain models, while disdaining others. Some thought each iteration while different yes, improved on the previous “season.” A third camp of listeners see each model clearly and could be held up on their own merits. I will say that I like all of the four iterations, and would be hard pressed to pick a favorite. That said, the interchangeable filters of the Fall move gently up on my list here.

You never had to worry about construction quality either, as all were of a build like they should be: top notch as well as good looking. This may be the finale, but I hope another line continues for BQEYX. I thank Elle for the sample, and continue to marvel at what this manufacturer produces.



Specs:

Driver: 12mm dynamic driver and 11.6mm PZT bone conduction
Impedance: 38Ω
Sensitivity: 113dB
Frequency: 5-40KHz
Cable Length: 1.2m
Connector Type: 0.78mm-2 Pin
Plug Type: 2.5/3.5/4.4mm available



In The Box:

BQEYZ
1.2m cable (3.5mm)
6 sets of silicon tips (s, m, l) in Atmosphere & Reference
Cleaning tool
Zippered case

Songs:

Jazz from Qobuz/Tidal
Massive Attack
Ziggy Marley
Jimmy Buffett on cassette (we are rewind)


Comparisons:

BQEYZ Autumn
Thieaudio Legacy 5


Unboxing:

Simple small packaging greeted me, with a tasteful near-midnight purple color. Specs on the back sleeve give a brief note of what is to come. Sliding the sleeve off, you find the Winter IEM’s nestled in soft foam on top, and a cover over the whole inner box. Open to the IEM’s, you can touch the gems within. Taking the cover off you find the excellent zippered case on the bottom half complete with the sets of tips mounted in a metal plate, and cleaning tool inside. Simple. Complete, with no unnecessary frills.



Build/Fit/Finish:

Traditionally known for excellent build qualities as well as fit, the Winter does not disappoint. While the nub on the inner shell seems longer than others I have tried, it does not bother me nearly as much as others which follow the same path. Harder, more angular edges between the faceplate and shell mean that grasping the IEM is easier as well. A singular vent hole on the inside lower side is the only break from the flowing look.

The Summer & Spring faceplates I likened to an ocean or breeze of air, what with the flowing pattern. Here though, the swoop on the black faceplate means an impending storm to me. You have most likely seen those dark winter storm clouds rolling in to bring heavy winter snows. Seeing that color of cloud in the sky, one knows you may as well settle in for the long haul, as this storm will bring copious amounts of that white jewel precipitation. Living up north, it is an excited expectation, if properly prepared.

The swoop on the faceplate help define the shape of the shell as well. Almost teardrop-like, there is a decidedly pointed bottom side, swooping forward, echoed by the green ring of emerald color; itself of stellar understated beauty. One not need be a diamond to show beauty.

The 49-core single crystal copper plated silver cable carries a tighter braid above the Y-splitter, while looseness carries the portion below in 4-strand braided fashion. Ending in a BQEYZ logo laden jack, in your choice of 2.5mm bal, 3.5mm se or 4.4mm bal rounds out the cable. The jack is longer as well, allowing a firm grasp for insertion & removal without becoming so long as to potentially bend (I have never bent a jack in my life).

Fit with the proper tip is top notch as well, but that nub did bother me a bit after longer sessions greater than two hours. A simple readjusting took care of that. Using a smaller Comply foam tip, the insertion depth was greater, allowing me better fit, isolation and fullness of sound.

As usual, the Winter follows the path set forth by the previous seasons, giving the user a thoroughly good-looking unit, with very good to excellent fit and finish as well.



Technology:

Bone conduction is not all that new, and some of the finest IEM’s I have heard and reviewed carry this tech. One only need think of Fir Audio and their “Element” models to understand how absolutely good this technology can sound. This technology, like a good piezo or planar has trickled down into the “more affordable” market of in-ears, and this can make for some interesting competition. With a large 11.6mm PZT bone conduction (bc) unit, BQEYZ is not messing about. Combine that with the larger-than-normal 12mm dynamic driver (dd) and you should be able to get a larger sound signature from the combination.

Here though, the bone conduction is used to compensate for the lack of mids and treble sounds coming out of the dd. The larger dd can carry its merits down low without having to worry about the upper end, since the bc accommodates that area of the sound spectrum. That bc is even designed in-house by BQEYZ, giving further credence to the development, instead of pawning that aspect to another company.


Sound:

Summary:

Succinct tight bass rides the wave of very good clarity when the song presents itself this way. I find the bass reaches low, but can bleed a bit into the mids; which is typical of a dd. Nonetheless, it is intoxicating, and the mids come across as full of verve and detail, giving way to a treble reach, which is not only pleasant but inviting. It can be a bit too sparkly when the song derides this aspect, which gives me pause due to my high treble intolerance. Soundstage affords the whole song to pervade the senses, with a good cubic feeling, but not cavernous. As a result, the presentation is full, and tied together without becoming too thin of note, save for the extended treble reach mentioned.



moar:

As previously mentioned, I like all iterations of the seasons, but for different reasons. The interchanging of filters on the Autumn lends a note of different colored leaves to the song. The Spring is sublime in presentation, and the Summer exudes a warm noted day to the senses. The Winter seems to be the tie that binds all together, and does so with aplomb. Not especially technically proficient, but involving instead, the Winter makes me want for cold days with snow falling and a nice Bailey-filled coffee as I look out upon the lake and snow falling.

On a song such as “No Hay Problema” by Pink Martini, there is the succinctness of which I mentioned, and the level of detail follows the staccato notes of piano and support conga drums. There is sufficient detail here in the song, and even with the sharper tones, enough delay in the bass to aid in giving a thicker texture to the song than it might purvey. Flowing deeper than others in this range thanks to the dd, the sub bass is full and draws you in with just enough rumble to give a foundational aspect that I appreciate. One could always EQ in more (I find no need...).

The mids come across with a warmth, but a revealing warmth to them that seems antithesis. Usually a warmth exudes a thicker, smoother texture; but on the Winter there certainly is the warmth, but the texture alludes to a precise nature in both female and male vocals, which is due to the bone conduction. Here the pairing of dd and bc works in concert to bring the best of both together. Even with the slight bleed into the mids from down low, the bc affords the smoothness to overlay without issue the duo vocals from Massive Attacks “Safe From Harm;” which presents a cacophony of euphoric musicality to the senses.

It is here though, that the treble note of which I speak can become a bit too much. On “S” and “C” sounds, there is that bit of bite, which bothers me just a bit. It could be the recording as well, but the Winter does seem to exacerbate that a bit. Nonetheless, the way mids meld into the upper end gives tribute to the BQEYZ engineers and their tuning of the EST Bone Conduction driver. I fully approve, especially since the synthesis between the bc and dd is so good. This would be a case of going against the driver war. It is not needed...

Soundstage is good and wide, but not amphitheater-wide. Pretty much cubic to me, with a bit more height provides me with very good placing of instruments and the note struck from all involved. Layering does falter a bit but not enough to make a jumbled mess. There is still very good detail, and the bc provides very good clarity to the overall sound signature. I find that even with the “limitations” listed above, I can comfortably turn the volume up on this, where on others using the same songs, I cannot. That to me means most of you will have no problem, since there is a high probability, you have better ears than me...



Comparisons:

BQEYZ Winter ($239) v BQEYZ Autumn ($199):

The Fall is a single 13mm dd with changeable filters (Bass, Normal, Treble). Until the Winter, this was my favorite of the seasonal BQEYZ offerings. I love single dd’s, and the changing of filters allowed me to tailor the sound a bit more. The treble tuning was indeed too hot for my tastes, and the normal too boring (smooth?). The bass tuning module allowed my music to reach even deeper, and without becoming harsh on the other end. I simply preferred this sound signature to the others...

...until the Winter came around. This is now my favorite of the seasons, with tuning, which fits me almost perfectly. Deep reaching bass, and the EST BC presents a wonderfully musical mid-section, smoothly moving towards the top, without issue. That said, much the way I mentioned the two Legacy versions above, the Autumn & Winter fall into the same listening patterns. If I want a smoother character, the Bass Filter of the Autumn and single dd provide me with what I want. If I still want that smooth characteristic of tune, but with better clarity, the Winter fills that “void.”

BQEYZ Winter ($239) v Thieaudio Legacy 5 ($249):

The Legacy 5 is a five-driver unit (single dd, 4 ba; 2-Sonion, 2-Bellsing), which gives me a more reference tuning but without becoming boring. To me that more neutral tuning presents details better than the Winter, but with less involvement. With the Winter, you feel the music. With the Legacy 5, you hear the music. Both a good, and the approach is good either way. I rotate between the Legacy 5 and Legacy 2 (and VE BIE Pro) as the units I wear when I mow. If the mowing is tough like this summer and it reminds me of mowing dirt, I wear the Legacy 5 because that hearing of the music guides me better. This may or may not make sense...if I were to wear the Winter while mowing under the same circumstances, I would probably come away with both anger and tears, since the music involved me so much. With the Legacy 5, that level of detail lets me finish the job in a very sensible manner.



finale:

The Winter brings to an end, the highly musical, but underappreciated line from BQEYZ to me. They may not garner the same levels of fan base as others from the Far East, but to me, the marque should definitely be in that same category of fan-favorites. Presenting a line just above entry level is tough. Many (most?) state point blank, “is this one much, MUCH better than my affordable unit?” To which I would answer, yes. Yes, it is. To me, the Winter culminates the line with the best (to me) sound in the range yet.

Musical such as I listen to “After Hours,” from Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Stitt & Sonny Rollins makes me reach for the volume, and turn the song up when using the Winter. Those sax solos can melt one’s knees, and melt other IEM’s, which may not be up to the task as the volume goes north. Not the Winter, for it presents that cool natured smoothness as it should sound” with a realism that makes me strut like a cool cat wearing Ray Bans. But I will never be that cool, and the Winter will have to suffice to present me that way in my own little world.

The Winter is worth a serious look against its competition since the sound is different enough (note comparison above) to present you with a viable option. Many in this category simply regurgitate their version of a sound; which can be similar to the others. Not BQEYZ and the Winter. It is different enough to be worth nothing less than a good listen, even if only for comparative purposes.

I again thank Elle & BQEYZ for the Winter (and all of the Seasons!). This is a fabulous line of IEM’s, and I cannot wait to find out what their next project is.

Cheers all.

AliExpress: https://vi.aliexpress.com/item/1005004967936559.html?gatewayAdapt=glo2vnm
Linsoul: https://www.linsoul.com/products/bqeyz-winter

BQEYZ Winter: Feel the music!



Summary:
Launched in late Sep'22, Winter is a proprietary . It comes with a proprietary 12mm Dynamic Driver & 11.6mm PZT Bone Conduction driver and comes at a great price to performance promise.



Disclaimer: BQEYZ had sent me a review unit for my impressions & views. The opinions below are based on my experiences with the unit and my own. I have tried to be as comprehensive & comparative as I could be - to give a complete picture to the audience.



Introduction:

Let's quickly dive into what the Winter has to offer. In pursuit of better sound for the price, the WINTER comes with a proprietary 12mm Dynamic Driver & 11.6mm PZT Bone Conduction driver.
The WINTER is priced at $239





Design & Build:

The WINTER comes with CNC aluminum housings with black faceplates are very ergonomic and have comfortable fit on most ears. I have tried it through long audio sessions, and it fared very well throughout.



It is described as the following on the website:

Winter hybrid earphone is composed of 12mm dynamic driver and 11.6mm PZT bone conduction. Dynamic driver is air conduction in charge of bass and middle frequency. The bone conduction unit is mainly used as a compensator for medium and high frequency and delivers sound in coordination with bone conduction bracket and earphone cavity.

The high frequency of ordinary earphone unit is directly transmitted to eardrum through air flow, and it is easy to have burrs when the high frequency boosts the volume sense. Winter is transmitted through bone conduction, and all the high frequency burrs are cancelled out in the conduction process. Therefore, Winter's middle and high frequency have good resolution without harsh.


Specifications:

The BQEYZ Winter comes at $239 price tag and specifications are as below:

https://www.linsoul.com/products/bqeyz-winter?variant=43787741003993








The Cable:

The Winter comes with a grey, soft and durable cable, which can enhance the brightness and clarity of sound as per the website.
The Winter comes with a replaceable 0.06mm*7*7, 49 cores single crystal copper plated silver cable features a 0.78mm 2pin connector





NOW LET'S TALK ABOUT THE SOUND....
Items Used for this Review:
DAC/AMP & Dongles: @Questyle M15 Dongle DAC/AMP, Cayin C9 Portable Amplifier
Portable Players / Sources : Cayin N8ii, @Questyle QP2R, Lotoo Paw Gold Touch
Streaming Source: QOBUZ




Ear Tips:



The default tips I found to be quite good and there is really no need to switch to other ear tips. But, I've also tried tip-rolling with a variety of tips such as: @Final Audio E series red & black ones, JVC Spiral dots, Spiral Dots+, @SpinFit Eartip CP500, CP155. Out of all of these I have found the AZLA SEDNAFIT BLACK to be the best fit for my ears in terms of overall fit, isolation & comfort.



Tracks Used:
The tracks I have used can be found from the below playlist that I have used and generally use for most reviews...





BQEYZ Winter Sound Impressions in Short:

The BASS:

The bass performance of WINTER is great. The 12mm DDs seems to have very good performance. The little nuances and details of the sub-bass region is clearly audible and the mid-bass comes with good amount of body & texture. The mid-bass packs the right amount of punch & slam.
Tracks like: "Hotel California (Live on MTV 1994) – Eagles" and "Fluid - Yosi Horikawa" feel quite immersive.

The MIDS:

The midrange of the WINTER is a bit recessed. That being said, there's no bass bleed and the midrange is quite muscular and full. Vocals are very immersive and both male and female vocals come with good texture. Instruments felt very natural and real with high accuracy and the separation between them is also great. In tracks like: "Anchor - Trace Bundy", "A dog named Freedom – Kinky Friedman" and "Ruby Tuesday – Franco Battiato" the midrange feels quite enjoyable.

The TREBLE:

The Treble coming from the Piezoelectric Bone Conduction driver of the WINTER seemed peak & fatigue-free. While it may not be as energetic in certain representations, it is certainly not lacking anything and very enjoyable.
Treble in tracks like: "Paradise Circus – Massive Attack", "Mambo for Roy – Roy Hargrove” and "Saints and Angels – Sharon Shannon" feel very immersive and enjoyable from the treble perspective.


The SOUNDSTAGE:

The Staging capabilities of the WINTER is above average. The depth in the stage is noticeably better than many others in the price range. It comes with the right amount of height, but the width might feel lacking a bit occasionally. Tracks like: “The Secret Drawer – Bela Fleck and the Flecktones” or “She Don’t know – Melody Gardot” or “Bohemian Rhapsody (live aid) – Queen” sound amazing & enjoyable.

Imaging & Separation:

The Imaging performance on the WINTER is stellar and sense of location is spot on with high accuracy. Tracks like: “Rotterdam (Or Anywhere) - The Beautiful South “or “Hello Again - Howard Carpendale & The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra” just shine through. The separation is good, but not above average.


Comparisons:

I was able to find an IEM in the same price range coming with a Single DD architecture. It is the much hyped NF Audio Sonic Memory SM2 which also happens to come at the same price of $239 like the WINTER. This now becomes very relevant comparison - specially for people who want to purchase from this price range.




BQEYZ Winter vs NF Audio Sonic Memory SM2:

Price: Since both IEMs come at the same price, there is no price advantage for either of them.

Build, Comfort & Features: Both IEMs are well built and comfortable. I liked the more ergonomic shape of the Winter to the square shaped SM2.

Bass: This is likely the stronger traits of both the IEMs. The Winter felt like having better depth and layering while the SM2 may have slight more details. Both IEMs score great in Bass.

Mids: The midrange on both IEMs are a bit recessed and the Winter feels like having a tad bit more texture & layering, while the SM2 seemed to have slightly better details and slightly better reverbs.

Treble: This is where the Sm2 loses out due to it's peaky treble. The Winter treble performance seemed much balanced and enjoyable.

Soundstage, Imaging and Separation: The SM2 has slightly wider stage while the Winter has slightly better depth. This is totally up to individual preference.




Conclusion:

The BQEYZ Winter is a great all-rounder IEM for the price range and an easy recommendation. At price range of $200-250 it delivers almost in all aspects to ensure a great musical experience.

BQEYZ Winter Review (Fahri’s Take)​

A fitting ending to an era as the BQEYZ Winter deliver in more ways than one. With their unusual tuning, great technical capability and successful bone conduction driver implementation Winter have become one of the more compelling choices in its price range.​

The Winter are the latest entry to Chinese earphone manufacturer BQEYZ’s Seasons line-up. BQEYZ is by no means an inexperienced brand, however, they don’t usually follow current trends and hypes, and instead proceed at their own pace.
Winter was earlier reviewed by Mahir, but I wanted to take them on as well. I’ve had their Autumn IEMs for some time and they have been one of my favorites ever since, so when the Winter were announced, I was quite curious and excited. Especially after hearing that they would have a bone conduction driver and are priced below USD $300. You can also read the full review at mobileaudiophile.com.



BQEYZ Winter

Pros​

• Great build quality
• Exceptional technical capability
• A breath of fresh air in a market flooded with Harman-like tuned IEMs.
• Competitive price

Cons​

• Tip and seal dependent
• Not the safest tuning and not for all genres of music
• Can occasionally get harsh

Technical Specifications​

• Driver: 12mm dynamic, 11.6mm bone conduction
• Impedance: 38 Ω
• Sensitivity: 113 dB
• Frequency: 5-40KHz
• Cable Length: 1.2m
• Pin Type: 0.78mm-2 Pin
• Plug Type: 3.5mm/2.5mm/4.4mm

Disclaimers​

Without boring you too much, I don’t necessarily have a sound preference. I tend to enjoy different sound profiles as long as they do well at what they intend to do. I try to be critic in my reviews but I might be somewhat biased one way or another (Recency bias, buyer’s bias etc.). Please keep these in mind. Also, I bought BQEYZ Winter as well as other IEMs mentioned here with my own money. If a unit I reviewed is given or loaned to me in the future, I will say so here.

Packaging​

BQEYZ is not stingy when it comes to packaging and accessories. Apart from the earphones, a silver-plated cable, two sets of ear tips special to Winter, a small pair of foam tips, a carrying case and a cleaning tool come out of the box. Cable termination can be selected when ordering.


BQEYZ Winter Packaging and Accessories

Cable​

The cable is one of the better stock versions I’ve encountered. The purity of the cable is not specified. It behaves well but, the Autumn’s stock cable is still my favorite when it comes to feel and behavior.

Design​

The BQEYZ Winter have a high-quality CNC-machined aluminum finish. The shape is almost identical to the Autumn. The only noticeable difference at first glance is, that the Winter is a little thicker. Edges are nicely rounded, except the wings which are pointier than the Autumn’s wings.
I have small ears with small conches and narrow ear canals and the Autumn has a perfect fit in my ears, but unfortunately, the Winter stick out a bit.
They are very tip and seal-dependent. I recommend you change tips until you find the perfect fit for your ear. Otherwise, you might find them harsh or wonder if the bone conduction drivers work at all.

Internals​

The most interesting part of the BQEYZ Winter is their usage of bone conduction drivers. Not many earphones implement this technology. The examples that initially come to mind are Unique Melody’s Mext and Mest line earphones.
BQEYZ only accompanied the bone conduction driver with their 12 mm dual cavity dynamic driver. So, we have a 1DD+1BC hybrid in our hands. This driver is probably from the same family as the Autumn drivers since they share similar characteristics.
The dynamic drivers in the Winter work full range, while the bone conduction drivers focus on higher frequencies to help with the treble extension and resolution capabilities.


BQEYZ Winter

BQEYZ Winter’s Sound​

The BQEYZ Winter have a bright neutral tuning with some warmth down low. They don’t adhere to any popular target, a fresh breath of air in the current market.

Bass​

Bass on the Winter is slightly above neutral. They have a good impact thanks to their 12 mm dynamic driver. The bass doesn’t bleed into the mids nor feel detached. Subbass slightly rolls off; however, you can feel they rumbling when the song you listen to has that information. It’s just not highlighted.

Midrange​

Mids are mostly neutral. Lower mids are slightly warm and lush. Male vocals have a decent body. The upper mids are not too forward, so they don’t shout or invade your personal space. Midrange clarity is excellent.

Treble​

If there is an emphasized region in the Winter’s frequency range, it is the treble, especially the lower treble. The Winter are explosive IEMs, and they literally pop in the treble. They are not necessarily harsh unless you crank up the volume. “S” sounds, and most of the cymbals are not sibilant. However, “Sh” sounds can occasionally jump at you.


BQEYZ Winter Frequency Response Graph

Technical Capabilities​

BQEYZ Winter shine brighter than most when it comes to technicalities. They are wide, deep, and airy. Imaging and separation of instruments are especially good. They resolve better than most of the IEMs in their price range. Attack and decay are on point, and the notes don’t linger more than they need to. Bass is very controlled.
Clarity is top-notch, maybe except for the bass and the lower mids. But they still have decent clarity in the lower region. Timbral quality, although behind conventional dynamic drivers, is still very good. Only occasional pops in treble throws off the balance.

Comparisons​

To give more context about my findings, I decided to compare the Winter to their predecessor the Autumn, since they are also priced pretty close.


BQEYZ Winter vs. Autumn

BQEYZ Winter vs. BQEYZ Autumn (with Normal Filters)​

The Autumn are slightly harder to drive. (With the same power, the Winter get about 2 dBs louder when a 1k test tone played.)
The mids, especially the upper mids, and female vocals are more forward on Autumn.
The Winter are noticeably warmer, while the Autumn have a brighter presentation and can get harsh a bit easier. Since Autumn can become sibilant easier, I prefer narrow bore tips with them, and it mostly solves the problem. The Winter, although similar, are more forgiving. They don’t really get sibilant around the same area.
They both hit hard in the bass region. The Autumn hit slightly harder thanks to their driver size. Sub bass extension is similar but transience might be slightly faster on Winter. However, the Autumn can be tuned according to genre and preference, so they have the upper hand.
The Winter resolve much better. Although Autumn are no slouch, they don’t have that last bit of clarity and resolving ability that the bone conduction driver brings.
The Autumn are considered one of the wider IEMs, and the Winter come very close. The Winter also feel a little bit deeper. The imaging capability of the Winter is also more precise.


BQEYZ Winter vs. Autumn Frequency Response Graphs

Conclusion​

BQEYZ has another winner in its hands. While the Winter don’t have the safest and most popular kind of tuning, they do most things very well. Maybe they lack the bass amount that would make them a preferable choice for pop, electronic music, or hip-hop. But where they lack, they make up with exceptional technical capability, especially for their price. If you are bored of Harman-like tuned IEMs and want something different, the BQEYZ Winter might just be the thing.

BQEYZ Winter: The End of Seasons

“A cold winter does not have to be a lonely time.”

PRICE: $239 (PHP. 13,000.)

PROS:

• Good unboxing and inclusions
• Fantastic build quality and finish
• Warm, relaxing but technically capable sound
• Rich, meaty but well textured bass
• Articulate but engaging midrange
• Well extended and detailed treble
• Solid overall technical ability

CONS:

• Subpar fitting
• No modular cable (nitpick for the price)
• Lacking subbass energy
• Midbass may come across too warm
• Midrange slightly colored due to midbass elevation
• Uneven treble that might be peaky for some
• Slight congestion in the midrange

WHO THIS UNIT IS FOR:

• People who like an analogue-esque sound
• People who like a musical, warm playback
• People who are curious about different driver techs (bone conduction)
• People who like a very organic sounding midrange and vocal presentation

WHO THIS UNIT ISN’T FOR

• People who are skeptical of non-traditional driver setups
• People who want a more energetic sound
• People who want a more open technical chop
• People who want a snappy, quick decaying overall sound

RECOMMENDED GENRES:

• Rock (in general, but I loved prog rock on these)
• Metal (or any busy genres in general)
• Funk
• R&B

SHORT REVIEW:
The BQEYZ Winter marks the end of the seasons and a rather melancholy end to the series. A warm, inviting sound akin to a fireplace in the cold gives Winter an analogue-like replay with its soothing bass, intimate midrange and respectable treble. However, this definitely won’t cater for a more lively or analytical sound. The inclusion of a bone conductor at this price is definitely interesting. Regardless of driver setup, the Winter cements itself as one of the most unique IEMs in the price range, for better or worse. RECOMMENDED WITH CAVEATS

FULL REVIEW:

With most brands opting to jump in the trends such as planars and a familiar slight u-shaped or Harman-like tuning, it can become quite a borefest when almost everything just sounds the same. But one company strives to stay consistent with their sound while continuing to explore the different existing technologies that have been out in the market. This then begs the question, is resiliency enough to keep you in relevancy?

SOURCES USED:

• BQEYZ Winter > VE Megatron > Foobar2000/Musicbee/Spotify
• BQEYZ Winter > Zishan U1 > Foobar2000/Musicbee/Spotify
• BQEYZ Winter > Not-by-VE Abigail > Foobar2000/Musicbee/Spotify

TRACKS USED:
A mixture of lossy, lossless and Hi-Res files will be used to give a general overview of the different formats in which the gear will be used.

Docs file explaining each track and what to look for: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oMa7GPLaqtpnnoR9tixvWI4aK-7tXMyTEZCJAVkIZx0/edit

Spotify Playlist:

ACCESSORIES USED:
Tips:

• Stock “Atmosphere” tips (S&M)
• Stock “Reference” tips (S&M)
• Stock basic tips (S&M)
• Newbees (S&M)
• KBear 07 (S&M)

Cable:

• Stock cable
• Hakugei Rubine in 4.4mm termination

NOTE:
I found that using wider bore tips opens up not just the soundstage but also a cleaner overall presentation that also improves technicalities by a bit. Using the reference tips is the best pairing by far, but the fitting will definitely vary as I found it to be too shallow with the provided tips. Newbees, KBEar07 and Atmosphere tips paired the best in comfort but suffered slightly from the congestion more than the reference tips. Using 4.4mm termination with the Megatron also caused a very weird interference where there would be clicking sounds on top of the very audible noise floor whenever I squeezed the cable



BQEYZ Winter is the 4th and last entry into the seasons series of BQEYZ that features Spring (1 and 2), Summer, Autumn and finally, the Winter. The Winter, just like its predecessors, use a unique driver configuration that is unlike those that come before it. Today, we will check out whether the Winter leaves BQEYZ out in the cold or warms up the future of the brand.

DISCLAIMERS: This unit is part of a tour provided by Ms. Elle Zhou of BQEYZ and handled by Mr. Bradley Loo. I am eternally grateful for this opportunity, but this does not in any way, shape, or form affect the quality of my review. This review will be based entirely on my experience with the IEM itself and I was not paid or told to say anything regarding the IEM. Lastly, I am only one reviewer; this is my personal experience with the unit. Many variables come to play to make everyone’s experience different and your mileage will vary depending on the circumstance.

SPECIFICATION SHEET:

• Driver Size and Setup: 1 12mm Dynamic Driver PAR Diaphragm + 11.6mm PZT Bone Conduction
• Impedance: 38ohms
• Sensitivity: 113db
• Frequency Range: 5-40khz
• Build: CNC Aluminum Alloy
• Cable Length: 1.2m
• Cable Material: Single Crystal Copper Plated Silver
• Termination: 2.5/3.5/4.4
• Interface: 2-pin 0.78mm

FULL INCLUSIONS AND ACCESSORIES:

• BQEYZ Winter drivers
• 4-strand Silver Plated Cable
• 1 Pleather Carrying Case
• 1 Cleaning Brush
• 1 Metal Tip Holder
• 1 Plastic Tip Holder
• 3 Pairs of “Atmosphere” Tips
• 3 Pairs of “Reference” Tips
• 1 Pair of Foam Tips

BUILD AND FIT:
Cable:

The cable included with the BQEYZ Winter is a gray, 4-strand, 49 core single crystal copper plated silver hand braided cable.

It’s on the lighter side and is quite soft to the touch with each strand being sturdy to give confidence of the build and braid of the cable. I never found myself fumbling about with the cable as its thickness makes it quite tangle-free while soft enough to respond well to being rodey wrapped or stored easily.



The jack is your standard gold plated 3.5mm jack housed in a basic metal housing with BQEYZs logo on it. You may also opt in for the 2.5 or 4.4 BAL termination.



The Y-Split and chin cinch are of a similar material to the jack, but I will have to point out that the chin cinch is quite annoying as it keeps sliding down whenever I try to drag it up to my chin. It’s somewhat unusable to me personally, but your mileage my vary.



The strands are soft which thankfully do not irritate my sensitive face.



Moving up to the earhooks and interface, the earhooks are quite well implemented with a nice softness to mold around my ear but not too lose to drag down. The ligther cable also helps with the cable not dragging down unto my ear. The interface is 2-pin 0.78mm.

There are no instances of microphonics even when a fan is blowing straight at the cable which makes it quite nice if you move around or just hate microphonics in general.



Overall, the cable is a very nice and good quality cable that doesn’t really stand out aesthetically but compliments the smooth and minimalist design of the Winter. It’s soft but durable while not feeling like you’re dragging chains around your ears constantly. The option of a balanced cable is definitely nice as you’ll see later that it scales very well with power, however I can’t help but feel like a modular cable should be mandatory for IEMs that are harder to drive than usual and cost $239. Regardless, a faultless cable that people would probably be happy enough to pair with their Winter

IEMs:

The IEMs are made from an aluminum material machined with CNC and uses sandblasting, anodize oxidation and highlight processing technology for its coating. They claimed that it makes the surface rich in color while bearing wear and corrosion resistant.



Just like the seasons before it (minus Summer), its metal build instills confidence and quality in its build while remaining smooth, lightweight and understated. The smooth faceshape design was, according to BQEYZ, comes from [a] figure skating rink [where] it has been modified over 17 times to establish the smooth like aesthetic of Winter.



The shape on the inside is also very similar in a sense that it still awkwardly fits into my ears, just like previous seasons. While the wings do help in keeping it snug in my ears so as to not make it fly out with the smallest movement, the nozzle and the space near its base definitely does not fit my ear as snug as I want to. It’s the best fitting seasons by far, but that’s not a very high bar.



I will admit that when I can plug it snuggly, it’s quite comfortable and does not induce stress or pressure points around my ear. However, this affects seal as I found it to be too loose to have proper seal. The cable thankfully compliments the IEMs well as I never found myself fumbling about the earhooks just to get it to fit in my ear properly.



Sadly, and this is arguably the worst part of the Winter personally, there is driver flex. Not terrible thanks to its loose fitting, but it guarantees that when I do get a good fitting, I’ll be forced to use foams to even enjoy the Winter.



Overall, amazingly built with a sleek and understated design that speaks confidence and premiumness that is unlike any IEMs that I’ve tried that are not of BQEYZ. However, it reminds you that it is from BQEYZ due to its awkward fitting and that driver flex is quite nasty but is saved by the double edged sword that is its seal and isolation. However, I have to give it to BQEYZ ending the seasons with a very tasteful build that the Winter is.


SOUND:

Sound Signature:
Neutral with a very slight boost in both the lower end and higher end but does not make it sound v-shaped or even u-shaped.

Driving Power:
It’s quite difficult to drive as I found myself pumping up the volume all the way to 6 out of 100 on my Megatron and halfway on the U1. Having at least a dongle dac will definitely improve your experience with the Winter, but using a 4.4 termination and source will immensely improve dynamics of the Winter.

Bass:

The overall presentation of the bass is on the leaner but still bodied and lush side. Subbass and midbass have equal emphasis and compliments each others presence well with a linearity that extends to the lower midrange.

Starting with the subbass, it’s more subdued which gives the impression of a leaner presentation. But it still packs enough rumble when the track calls for it. I’d say it’s more quality over quantity type of subbass as the reverberations were satisfyingly immersive and tastefully hefty. It’s not a bassheads type of bass with insane rumble and power, but more than enough for those who want a cleanly done subbass

Moving to the midbass, this is where the Winter shines as it presents instruments and vocal nuance in such a soothing and relaxing manner while providing a decent amount of texture, detail and punch. It’s definitely on the warmer side than lean, so you should expect a lot of body in instruments and vocals. Despite this however, it never sounded muddy or bloated to my ears as the elevation is quite linear throughout the lower subbass and the higher lower mids. Texture is quite nicely done but note definition and overall detail leaves more to be desired. This in turn gives it a more lush midbass presentation where the bass doesn’t sound the most controlled but does not sound sloppy or slow. Dynamics are quite alright but I definitely found myself wanting more texture and clarity on the track “Bombtrack” by Rage Against the Machine where the bass guitar can often get blurry with the higher octave guitar and vocals join the mix.

Overall though, it’s a lush but well textured bass presentation that I really wished had just better detail and clarity, but well presented in the end.

Mids:

The midrange of the BQEYZ Winter has, bar none, one of the best balance of tonality and technical ability. While I usually find my gripes over u-shaped or Harman-like IEMs in the midrange, the Winter perfected my preference in midrange almost to a T.

Starting with the lower mids, there is a sense of warmth and body carried over from the midbass. This does not muddy or bleed into the mids more than it gives ample amount of warmth and lusciousness to the lower mids. Male vocals sound rich and bodied with instruments having a very satisfying amount of bite and texture. It’s definitely on the warmer side but not by a lot that it loses detail and clarity. There’s this intimate but immersive feel to instruments and vocals in this region that make it so relaxing to listen to. I never found myself feeling like the lower mids were ever underemphasized, dry or too lean sounding. The amount of detail and nuance can definitely still be put up a notch by giving them more clarity and texture, but I honestly think that the lusciousness presented is more than enough to make up for the very very slight loss in texture. Thanks to the quicker decay of the bass, the warmth is supplemented with a lot of nuance, especially when it comes to vocals where the likes of Jacob Collier in Time Alone With You where his (and Daniel Caesar too!) vocals just oozes with personality and detail. It feels as if they’re singing close to your ears like a smooth lullaby.

Moving unto the upper mids, it’s quite naturally presented with ample forwardness in the vocals and instruments in this region without being to aggressive or harsh. Female vocals don’t have my preferred sparkle and edge, but instead, soothe the ears with a natural elevation and a lovely sense of body. Upper mids never sounded grainy even on tracks that are usually presented as such like in “You Should Head North” by Necry Talkie. On that note, the Winter passed the shout test with flying colors, as I expected it to do so. Instruments in this region are especially nice, particularly string instruments like pianos, violins and guitars, which sound soothing and relaxing while still being articulate and detailed. On that note, I was pleasantly surprised by how detailed and articulate the upper midrange of the Winter is for how lush it sounds. Usually, these kinds of warm tuning sacrifice the upper mids quite significantly (i.e. BQEYZ Topaz) but I did not find the same to be true in the Winter. Levels of clarity were high but it does not sound dry or harsh in any way. The Winter genuinely made me question my own preference in midrange whether I wanted something more aggressive or something like the Winter’s more enveloping upper mids. The Feeling by Sammy Rae & The Friends is a very energetic song with Sammy Rae’s vocals having a lot of nuance in its presentation while having a warm and enveloping presentation. I’ve gotten used to hearing Sammy Rae’s voice in the colder light but the warmth brought about the Winter gave me a completely different perspective on enjoying her vocals.

Regardless, there’s very little to fault about the midrange of the Winter, with the lower mid-detail just being a bit blunted for my preference. But bar none, this is one of the best midrange presentations I’ve had the opportunity to spend a while with.

Treble:
Contrary to its name, I personally think that the treble is not that “cold” sounding as it’s smoother and more laid back in presentation. However, this does not mean that it’s not capable of crisp articulation and detail as it presents them in quite a soothing manner!

Starting with the lower treble, the Winter takes a calmer approach from the more forward upper mids as it’s on the darker side of things. Detail is still retained, however clarity somewhat took a hit as while I can still hear the nuances in vocals, they do sound a lot darker as compared to the upper mids. Instruments in this region still retained the naturalness of the upper mids however as I didn’t really hear any oddness in its timbre despite having a piezo driver. Instruments and vocals are well defined with good body and nuance.

Moving unto the mid treble, detail in this region is crisp and detailed while still retaining a realistic overall presentation. A track like “Got to Get You In My Life” by Earth, Wind & Fire has a usually bright presentation with percussives having this dry and occasionally somewhat metallic sound is perfect on the Winter however as there were no oddness or harshness found in the track and even gave the brighter mixing of Earth, Wind & Fire the much needed warmth.

Lastly, the upper treble is presented much tamer compared to the rest of the treble. The amount of air is sufficient, but personally lacking as there are instances where instruments sound choked or congested. The extension to vocals and instruments are realistic, but lacking personally as it does not have that lingering sparkle I look for in treble. It is, however, undoubtedly safe and well presented considering that it has a BC and Piezo dealing with the upper frequencies and I am quite experienced with the tendency of piezo to ring in your ears.

Transient ability is very impressive as it’s able to be quite snappy without sounding dry or grainy.

Overall, it’s a clean but articulate treble response that admittedly lacks a bit in the air department personally but is perfectly adequate and realistic in its extension.

TECHNICALITIES:

Overall technicalities of the Winter is quite impressive albeit definitely not the most expansive, clear or accurate that I’ve tried

Starting with stage, there’s a good sense of width and height but somewhat lacking in depth. Instruments sound well expanded but more in a plane rather than in a room. Separation, imaging and layering are very impressive as it breezed by even more complex tracks without a problem, however it was not the cleanest presentation that I’ve heard. The warmth definitely made its overall ability to separate, layer and place instruments and vocals in the room a bit clouded. But again for how lush the overall sound of the Winter is, this is very impressive as you don’t really find warmer IEMs with technical chops this good

Overall, very impressive considering it’s tonality but it did slightly affect its performance due in part to its warmth.

COMPARISONS:

Vs TangZu Heyday ($200)

• Build is more hefty on the Heyday but the Winter isn’t a fingerprint magnet and feels smoother and less scratch prone
• Cable is better on the Heyday and is also modular
• Fit is better on the Heyday but has more pressure points over time
• The Winter is a more neutral sound signature compared to the more energetic balanced sound signature of the Heyday
• Winter is slightly less harder to drive but still harder to drive than usual
• Bass is meatier but also less controlled on the Winter
• Midrange is warmer and luscious on the Winter
• Upper mids are more forward and energetic on Heyday but Winter sounds more natural
• Treble is more elevated and more extended on the Heyday but the Winter is smoother and natural sounding
• Technicalities is overall slightly better on the Heyday with much better headstage

Vs AFUL Performer 5 ($219)

• Build is better on the Winter but fit goes for Performer 5
• Winter is more neutral while Performer 5 is more U-Shaped with bass emphasis
• Winter is harder to run than the Performer 5
• Bass is cleaner, better defined, more controlled and more textured in the Winter with the Performer 5 having a more defined subbass
• Mids are overall more correct sounding with better details on the Winter
• Treble is smoother on the Performer 5 but Winter has a better-defined treble presentation
• Technicalities is better on the Winter due to having better cohesion and cleanliness

Vs SeeAudio Yume 2 ($200)

• Build is similar on both with Winter not being a fingerprint and scratch magnet
• Yume 2 has a slight u-shape sound signature with a bit of treble emphasis while Winter has a more neutral sound signature
• Yume 2 is easier to run compared to the Winter
• Bass is more bodied, more textured and more detailed on the Winter, but Yume 2 has more subbass presence
• Mids are more bodied, more detailed and more nuanced in the Winter
• Treble is much smoother on the Winter, but more extended and airier in the Yume 2
• Technicalities is better on the Winter overall minus headspace

CONCLUSION:

The BQEYZ Winter is a perfect closer to the seasons of BQEYZ with a warm, soothing but technically capable set of in-ears. It’s very well built with a considerable amount of inclusions, albeit lacking a modular cable which I’d argue it needs. It has a wonderful build quality akin to its seasonal brethren, along with the poor fitting but a cable that makes up for it just a little bit. It has a very natural sounding timbre with the entire frequency response, especially in the midrange being a love letter that honing ones house sound will refine it to near perfection.

However, I can’t deny that along with the price of the Winter, it’s hard to suggest it to people who are used to something more U-shaped or Harman. It’s what people would call “quirky” tuning but I honestly think that this is an experience that anyone into audio should experience at least once. The amount of refinement they have made from the Spring 1 all the way to the Winter is insane with the mids being near perfect and the piezo zing being the least evident here.

I think what BQEYZ is doing with their IEMs is wonderful. In a sea of what seems to be the same tuning with small adjustments, BQEYZ offers not only different driver configurations per release but also different but more refined sound. On that note, the Winter is also one of the most affordable IEMs with a bone conduction driver. Whether you believe that BC is a meme or it does something, it’s up to you. I personally don’t care about whatever driver an IEM uses, as long as they sound good and I will make some connections if need be. They are a completely unique but still technically capable and smooth-sounding IEM that no one should ever give the cold shoulder to. The Winter may mark the end of the seasons, but I believe it’s just the beginning to a beautiful future that BQEYZ has in store for those who adore their unique sound.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my review. If you would like to see more of my content, please consider following my Facebook page and my other social media accounts:

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You may also read this on our website, AudioNotions: https://audionotions.com/bqeyz-winter-the-end-of-seasons/

If you would like to avail the product review today, check the non-affiliate link below!

AliExpress: https://vi.aliexpress.com/item/1005004967936559.html?gatewayAdapt=glo2vnm
Linsoul: https://www.linsoul.com/products/bqeyz-winter


Have a nice day, and enjoy music!

𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬
I would like to thank Ms. Elle Zhou From BQEYZ Audio and also Sir Levi Loo of Brionced Reviews for arranging this Tour and giving me an opportunity to be in it (Thank you very much!).
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𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠
This season series of BQEYZ has been released for a second time and this one titled "BQEYZ Winter", is the last in the series, since science teaches that there are only four seasons: Spring, Autumn, Summer, and Winter. This is the last in the series, and so from here on out, there will no new releases in the Season Series for BQEYZ Audio. You know what I wish that I have an opportunity to test the other seasons but it's a good opportunity to test this season.
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𝐏𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬
For now, I will focus on the packaging and the contents, because it has a lot of interesting contents inside. There is an excellent presentation of the packaging since it has the mechanism of a book where you flip the cover to open the box. As far as the packaging and the cover are concerned, it is visually appealing and it is very attractive. Now let's talk about what is inside the box. Inside are the following,
a pair of BQEYZ Winter IEMs, a four-core 0.78mm 2-pin Single crystal copper-plated silver cable with a straight 3.5mm termination plug. an ear tips organizer plate. 3 pairs of "Atmosphere" ear tips of different standard sizes. 3 pairs of "Reference" ear tips of different standard sizes. 3 pairs of new narrow-bored matte finish ear tips of different standard sizes. a pair of memory foam ear tips. Cleaning tool. a hardbound zippered IEM case. a velcro cable organizer.some paperwork like quality control card and instruction manuals. So many included in the box and honestly, it is a good approach to its price range.
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𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞/𝐓𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲
As a general description, the sound of this is more on the neutral to balanced side and is adaptable to any genre it also has the in-house sound of BQEYZ, which places a higher emphasis on soundstage and technicalities. As I said, I like the tuning, to the point that it took me a while to realize that it was already midnight. I am writing this review in the afternoon lol. It has a great sound signature and will keep you listening to your music for a long time without getting tired. It produces good bass that is clean and punchy and the midrange is also very detailed with good clarity. This is the ideal IEM for everyone including audiophiles and music enthusiasts alike. As I stated earlier, it has a neutral signature but is versatile enough to cater to different genres of music.
-------
𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐬
As far as the bass is concerned, it suits my taste perfectly, as the Sub-Bass is focused on this set. While it still has that rumble, it does not sound overly aggressive as it is with many bass-heavy tuned sets. Overall, I really enjoy the bass because it has a fast decay, has quality bass, and does not sound bloated or bleed. The mid-bass has a sense of authority to it, and the transient response is just as fast as it should be. Overall, I really like the bass.
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𝐌𝐢𝐝𝐬
It is the overall sound of the mids of this pair that stands out as the most distinctive feature of this pair. The mids are well-balanced and well-integrated with the rest of the spectrum. As a result, vocals and other instruments in the mid-range are clean and crisp sounding. The separation of instruments in the mids is great; it helps in giving these tracks a more immersive feel. It has a great warmth to the vocals making it more exciting to hear. I am super impressed with the sound of the violin in this pair because it brings out the natural sound of the strings and how it echoes throughout the soundstage. The feel of the violin is like hearing it live in a crowded hall surrounded by screaming fans. Each note is crystal clear making it authentic. At higher volumes, there is an upper mid boost which can make the sound distorted but in your typical volume, it's very fine. The overall mids reminds me of release the Spyce I know that I used an anime reference but it is what it is lol.
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𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐥𝐞
Even though this is my first time hearing a set with a Bone-Conduction system, I was very surprised by the overall quality of the sound. The extension of the highs is very satisfying in my ears and it gives a lot of details and clarity. In terms of brilliance, it is great since it feels natural and not that artificial feeling. This is subjective and source dependent, if you increase the volume it might sound irritating since it's very boosted but I won't put this as a con since this is not that big deal for me and I don't mind it that much. Generally, the highs are very even and there is no dominant frequency which is usually the sign of a 'bright' sounding set.
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𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐓𝐲𝐩𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡
as for the technical performance, its above average. The winter has great imaging i can locate instruments and vocals clearly with definition and precision. Sounstage is also above average it has great depth and atmoshpre. Seperation is above average vocals and instruments are well presented with great clarity and definition. macro and micro details are presented with not being harsh or fatiguing.
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𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦
The winter features a Bone conduction sytem infused with other driver. Which means that the sound produced by the system is transmitted through the jaw bone directly to the inner ear. In my experience i felt it but not much; it was more of a subtle vibration than actual audio.
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𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐓𝐲𝐩𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫
I am using my balance cable with 4.4mm port and i can say that it manage to bring out more powerful sound but the stock cable 3.5mm is also good and really good for the price you pay !. Its very easy to drive but with a more powerful source the winter will benefit to it. If your a casual listener and have a budget Dac the winter can still sound full even with any source you have.
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𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠
This somewhats reminds me of my favorite V-Tuber which is
Hoshimachi Suisei becuase her songs and vocal range are very excellent and also the sound of the winter is very like her since the winter has very excellent vocals and overall tonality. I do wish that i can extend my time with the winter but unfortunately this is not mine and i am going to miss the winter dearly since they are amazing in sound and design.
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𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
Guitar, Loneliness and Blue Planet-kessoku band
seishun complex-kessoku band
Maihime-Lyrical Lily
Around and Around-D4DJ ALL Mix ending song
Fake Off- Merm4id and Rondo from D4DJ Double Mix
Delighting- Konomi Suzuki
Gravity Wall- Gemie, SawanoHiroyuki[nZk], and Tielle
Shout- Gemie, SawanoHiroyuki[nZk], and Tielle
The Everlasting Guilty Crown- EGOIST
TempoTec E44- Dac Dongle
4.4mm Balance cable

The BQEYZ Winter is BQEYZ's 4th and final iteration to a small series of IEM (around the 200-250USD bracket) that revolves naming their IEMs with the 4 seasons of Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. With each season of the IEM comes with different setups of their drivers, or should I say "evolves" through time. For winter, they are implementing a 12mm dual cavity DD + a piezo bone conductor, which is said to help with the mid and high frequencies. Specs aside, how does this pair fair with its contenders within this price bracket?



Foreword

1. The following reviews of IEMs will always be based on its own prowess relative to its price. When I say something about an IEM is good or bad, it will always be relative to how much is the retail of it.
2. I will be using DACs relative to the price of the IEM to review them. For this case, the M15 shall be used.
3. This IEM is being lent to me as a tour unit, thanks Edmund Chan and AudioMonsta for organizing the tour of the Winter

BUILD QUALITY & FIT
The build of the overall headshell is made from metal/alloy material that's CNC-ed, and coated with a matte black finish, with a turqoise-green metallic accent surrounding the border between the wavy accented faceplate and the body. The weight of the headshells are quite light and they do not post any issues in terms of weight, hence I can comfortably use them for hours.





Also before anything, let's give a moment of appreciation for BQEYZ for giving us a stock cable that actually feels nice to the touch. Eventhough it's only 4 cores, I can confidently say these can rival even certain basic aftermarket cables in terms of its hand-feel


Fitment of this pair is decent. but I definitely needed third party tips to have better seal because the stock tips did not help me create any sort of ideal seal and isolation
Ah yes the isolation.

One interesting take from this IEM is that due to the large vent holes, there will be no complete isolation from you and your surroundings. You know everytime when you talk while wearing an IEM and you talk you'll sound "underwater"? Well this has less of it.

SOUND
Source : Foobar 2000 -> Questyle M15 -> S.M.S.L. SH-6 Amplifier -> BQEYZ Winter + Spinfit SP145




Upon first impression, the BQEYZ Winter is an IEM with a neutral bright configuration. Although many are calling it to have a mild-V shape, personally I would say it leans more towards being balanced or neutral bright.
Other than that, one interesting note is the overall sound of this grainy characteristic to it.


BASS
The bass of the BQEYZ Winter overall is definitely on the tame side, and often I would use the term "subdued" due to the fact that in certain songs, the mixing of songs would emphasize more on the mids and highs and hence makes the bass less contributing to the overall experience of the song. Nevertheless, for people who enjoy neutral-right signatures, this would be familiar and right up your alley. Think of LETSHOUER S12 but less harsh overall.

• Kicks sound thumpy and airy, but does not have enough impact
• Subbass is definitely tamed down and lacking the amount of rumble and impact
• Tonal definition of basslines are smooth, clean, and full
• No signs of bassbleed

MIDS
tl;dr : open, transparent, dry.

Vocals :

• Male vocals - Leaning towards the cold side, in some occasions maybe felt a little veiled and hollow
• Female vocals - definitely still has that slight coldness to it but definitely less prominent compared to male vocals, There are instances of sibilance though

Everything Else :
I would consider the midrange the highlight of this pair, having a very opened feeling to it, but allowing you to feel more immersed - sounding clean, light, and soft overall. Again comparing it to the LETSHUOER S12s, imagine the harshness and aggresiveness are all tamed down, but not till the point of a KATO.

• Overall presentation of elements are never harsh and feel very bodied, but occasionally might have bloatiness
• This pair also has a decent amount of transparency in its midrange, but overall might sound a little dry for some
• Keys like grand piano definitely sound strong and more emotion than usual
• Strings such as violins and guitars will be accompanied with decent decay/extension
• Notes will sound hot rather than sibilance in certain cases where sibilance is expected
• Harmonics from gutiars will sound pleasant to the ears but with less strength than I would prefer (Polyphia)

HIGHS
This is gonna be my first time listening to something with a Piezo bone conduction unit, hence I'm not sure how much of the qualities I hear are from that, but nevertheless :

• Drums overall will sound more aggressive in this range and often times can subdue other parts of the track (e.g.: rock songs, math rock)
• Hi-hats will sound slightly hot but only ever so slightly for trap type hats (fast hats)
• Microdetails in the treble region presents it self in a soft, rounded manner, rather than being too bright and sharp
• Pianos on this range also sounds heavenly and soft
• Treble extension is quite far than your conventional IEM, allowing hats and cymbals to have that sweet decay
• However, when listening to rock songs having constant cymbals will cause track to feel hazy due to the crashes (treble bleed?)
• There will also be instances where too much things go on in the treble region where the said haziness comes in and muddles with the whole track

TECHNICALITIES
When talking about technicalities, the one pair that can fairly be used to contend with this (price wise) is the Moondrop KATO. Straight out the bat, the thing I noticed was the soundstage of the Winter was significantly wider (but only slightly) and has this slight airyness to it. However, it overall feels like there isn't enough depth and width to it.

Imaging on this pair certainly is good where elements of tracks can be fully separated and distinguished from each other but starts to fall short when the tracks get more busy. I wouldn't say it sounds congested, but more like everything starts to sound like its slowly lumping together where borders of elements are getting less and less distinguishable.

Dynamics of this pair might be a little too skewed due to its more elevated mids to highs. Although the tuning of the Winter is indeed with very tame bass, the moment tracks become busy, you can feel the emphasis of everything on the mids and highs, whereas the bass is being pushed backwards. I certainly did not have enough hours to explain this more percisely but basically - the more busy a track gets, the more the low end gets subdued.

Nevertheless, having this type of dynamic technicality certainly helps in the detail retrieval range, where tracks with macro and micro details living anywhere at and above the midrange are being emphasized and pushed forwards. However, there are times when there are too many elements going on in a specific range, details will sound like its slightly merged together and not completely seperated.



FINAL THOUGHTS
Overall, my personal opinion on this pair is that it definitely is reminiscent of the LETSHUOER S12 a lot, with overall more tamer presentation. However, I felt that there are certain places that it fell short, from the double-edged sword that is the treble extension causing tracks to "treble bleed", ; the overemphasis of mids and highs till it subdues the already tamed down bass ; the poor isolation due to the overly large vent holes - all of these just adds up until it you start to wonder, why are you paying so much for this?
With this type of price, I would say there are better choices out there for an overall better experience, but at the same time, giving it the benefit of the doubt - preference is important.
If your listening is within the realms of slow pop (Lana Del Ray, Anderson Paak) , soul (Sampha, Tom Misch), and whatever FKJ is doing, then I would say this is not a bad choice.

DISCLAIMER

I would like to thank Elle from BQEYZ for providing this review unit. The BQEYZ Winter can be obtained here: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004967936559.html (no affliate links).




SPECIFICATIONS

• Driver configuration: 12 mm PAR (polyarylate) dynamic driver + 11.6 mm bone conduction driver
• Frequency response: 5 Hz – 40000 Hz
• Impedance: 38 Ohms
• Sensitivity: 113 dB (no units provided)
• Cable: 2-pin, 0.78 mm, 49 core single-crystal copper-plated silver cable
• Plug: can select 2.5 mm, 3.5 mm or 4.4 mm during ordering
• Tested at $239 USD

ACCESSORIES

The outer packaging has a aurora borealis motif, as per the Winter namesake.

Other than the IEM, these are included:

- 3 pairs of "reference" silicone ear tips (S, M, L)
- 3 pairs of "atmosphere" silicone ear tips (S, M, L)
- 3 pairs of balanced silicone ear tips (S, M, L)
- 1 pair of foam ear tips
- Carrying case
- Cleaning brush
- Cable


The accessories are really generous, and consumers should not need to search for aftermarket accessories, as everything is quite usable.





The foam tips give the best isolation, though foamies (in general) may blunt the treble (which may not be a bad thing), and they may be less durable than silicone eartips.

The grey "reference" silicone ear tips, are wide-bore, and open up the treble frequencies, increasing air and sparkle, and expanding the soundstage. The black "atmosphere" ear tips are narrow-bore, and do compress the soundstage, but increase bass frequencies. There's a third variant of silicone ear tips included, which are a mid-point between the above 2 silicone tips in terms of bore size; these also are a mid-point in terms of sonic profile, and are the most "balanced" of the lot.

The tips come in a nice metal tray insert and plastic case, which is quite a nice touch.

Do explore with the various permutation of ear tips, to see what suits you, as they influence not only the sound, but comfort, isolation and seal. Different ear anatomies will synergize better with certain ear tips.




During ordering, one can opt for a 2.5 mm, 3.5 mm or 4.4mm stock cable, depending on what single-ended or balanced sources you prefer.

The stock cable is a 2-pin, 0.78 mm, 49 core single-crystal copper-plated silver cable. It is very well braided, with good haptics, and is quite tangle-free; microphonics are minimal. There's a chin cinch to add stability during usage. The proximal ends of the cables have a L and R lettering to delineate the left and right sides respectively.

I'm not a fan of MMCX connectors as they may become loose with frequent cable changes, so a 2-pin connector is always welcome in my book.




There's a semi-rigid carrying case provided, which is quite spacious to store the Winter IEM and other accessories. A cleaning-brush is also included to brush off debris like ear wax.


The rest of this review was done with the stock cable and stock "balanced" tips. No aftermarket accessories were used, so as not to add any confounders to the sound.


BUILD/COMFORT

In keeping with the winter theme, BQEYZ took inspiration from an ice skating rink in designing the shells of the Winter, incorporating graceful curves in the housing. In fact, they had to redesign the shells 17 times, before finally being satisfied with the final prototype!



Fashioned via 5 axis CNC machining, the housings are made of aluminum. The build is truly solid. The surfaces are sand-blasted and oxidized via anodization, and BQEYZ advertises that the shells are corrosion resistant as such.

One can choose between a silver or black coloured shell during ordering. There's a nice green lining along the circumference of the housings, giving the Winter a distinctive look.

There are no sharp protrusions on the shell to poke the ears, though there's a concha protrusion to add some grip during use. The shells are very light; comfort is very good, ergonomics are top-notch, and I didn't encounter any discomfort during hour long listening sessions.




The 2 pin connectors are slightly protruding, but the Winter should still be compatible with most 2-pin aftermarket cables.




There's a R and L lettering emblazoned on the shell to identify the sides, with the words "Winter" and "BQEYZ" inscribed on the bottom of the shells.

I didn't find any driver flex on my set, so it seems the venting design works as advertised, but of course this is partially dependent on ear anatomy and type of tips used.




ISOLATION

The foam tips do give the best isolation of the included stock ear tips, but even so, isolation is an area of weakness on the Winter. It is heavily vented, so perhaps the Winter is not the best option for stage monitoring or usage in noisy places.


DRIVABILITY

I tested the BQEYZ Winter with:
- Khadas Tone Board -> Schiit Asgard 3 amp
- Khadas Tone Board -> Topping L30 amp
- Hiby R3 Pro Saber 2022 DAP
- Shanling M0 Pro DAP
- Sony Walkman NW A-55 DAP (Walkman One WM1Z Plus v2 Mod)
- Sony Walkman NW A-55 DAP (Walkman One Neutral Mod)
- Questyle M15 DAC/AMP dongle
- Apple dongle
- E1DA DAC/AMP dongle
- Colorfly CDA M1 DAC/AMP dongle
- Truthear SHIO DAC/AMP dongle
- Tempotec Sonata HD Pro dongle (BHD firmware)
- Smartphone

The Winter is extremely easy to drive. Amplification is not really essential, but this set will scale with juice, in terms of bass tightness and increased dynamics/soundstage.


SOUND & TECHNICALITIES

The Winter sports a neutral bright tuning.


Graph of the Winter using a IEC711 compliant coupler. 8kHz area is a coupler artefact peak.

The Winter is pretty unique in that it is a hybrid that is composed of a PAR (polyarylate) DD (handling the bass and lower midrange), and a purported bone conduction driver (handling the midrange and treble). These are housed in 2 separate cavities, in a co-axial design. In essence, the "bone conduction" driver probably operates as something akin to a piezoelectric driver, in boosting the higher frequencies and giving lightning fast transients and some zing to the treble.


The bass is just a hair north of neutral, and descends quite linearly from the mid-bass to the sub-bass. The sub-bass has a slight rumble when called for, and the mid-bass has adequate punch, though bassheads might probably want to look elsewhere, as the quantity might not be sufficient for them.

In terms of quality, the bass is speedy, texturing is above average and there is no mid-bass bleed. The Winter definitely goes for quality over quantity in the bass.




The midrange is very open and transparent, aided by the lack of mid-bass bleed. The upper mids are forwards without being shouty, which is a common cardinal sin for a lot of present-day CHIFI tuning. Boosting the volume at this region (Fletcher-munson curve) can make the upper midrange more harsh, but most users should not face such issues at lower or moderate volumes.

The lower treble continues on from the slight upper mids boost, and the Winter's upper treble is very extended, with good sparkle and air. There's some sibilance, but this tuning choice show-cases great clarity and micro-detailing. Treble-heads will have a field day, though on the flip-side, perhaps treble-sensitive brethren might want to consider using the foam tips to tame the treble.

FWIW, I consider myself to be treble-sensitive, and the bone conduction/piezo implementation here seems quite well done, with the generous treble boost not that harsh/fatiguing to me for shorter listening sessions.


I'm pretty strict on grading an IEM in the aspect of timbral accuracy, which I define as "what lets us tell apart a musical instrument or voice, even when they are hitting the same note at the same fundamental pitch and loudness". In other words, does a violin sound like a real life violin on this transducer? YMMV, as some do not prioritize timbre too high up on their requirements, and some listen to music genres with more synthetic instruments, so perhaps timbre is not a deal-breaker for some.

In general, I find pure single DD sets to have the best timbral accuracy, when compared to planars or BAs or piezo technology. I'm quite glad to report that the Winter has quite authentic timbral accuracy, in vocals and acoustic instruments. Woodwinds have a nice vibratory tail-end, and percussion instruments have this organic membranous rumble. Piano note weight and resonance seems quite legitimate and vocals are not too nasal sounding; essential everything sounds just right in the timbre department.

In technicalities, the Winter is outstanding. Soundstage is expansive in all 3 dimensions, layering and imaging is pin-point in a dark background. Micro-detailing and clarity are excellent, as alluded to previously. Even on very complex tracks with competing instrumentation, the Winter holds its own and showcases its technical prowess.



Many hybrids fall short in the aspect of coherency, where sometimes the DD bass of that hybrid is slower or has different timbre from the drivers like piezos/BAs handling the upper frequencies. The Winter is very coherent from the bass all the way to the treble (in terms of speed and timbre), and the synergy between the DD and bone conduction in this IEM is well incorporated.


COMPARISONS

The Winter will be compared against other similarly priced hybrids. Pure BA, single DD and planars are omitted , as the different driver types have their own pros and cons.





MUSE HIFI ME1

The ME1 is another neutral bright hybrid. The ME1 sounds more sterile, with a thinner note weight, and is much more shouty in the upper mids/lower treble, with a more artificial and nasal timbre.

The ME1 has greater clarity in view of the boosted upper frequencies, but this is kind of a "fake clarity" as the micro-detailing is actually on par or less than the Winter (which has more tamed upper frequencies). The ME1 has better imaging and sharper edge definition, but a weaker soundstage. The ME1 also has more sibilance and splashiness on cymbals and high-hats, and is quite fatiguing to listen to.

Both sets have sub-par isolation but are well accessorized. Of note, the ME1 comes with a modular cable, so it is compatible on-the-go with various balanced and single-ended sources.


Sony XBA-N3

The XBA-N3 is an L-shaped hybrid. It has way bigger bass than the Winter, but the bass bleeds and isn't tight nor textured. The N3 has a darker treble, but has less sibilance, though it doesn't have much air or sparkle.

The N3 has a thicker note weight, and timbre is surprisingly natural despite containing multiple BAs. The N3 has weaker imaging, micro-details, instrument separation and clarity, though perhaps its soundstage is a bit bigger than the Winter.

The N3 is meant to be worn cable-down, it also has poor isolation, but has marked driver flex.


AFUL Performer 5

The Performer 5 is a warm U-shaped set; it is bassier, with greater sub-bass emphasis, though the bass is not as textured, with some mid-bass bleed and incoherency between the DD bass and its BAs handling the higher frequencies (DD is slower than BAs).

The Performer 5 has a slightly thicker note weight, but isn't as extended in the treble, and is darker (though with less sibilance). Midrange is more recessed on the Performer 5, with BA timbre being present in the Performer 5 too.

In technical performance, the Performer 5 has a more intimate soundstage, with slightly weaker imaging, micro-details and instrument separation.

The Performer 5 has way less accessories, though it has superior isolation and a more comfortable fit.


CONCLUSIONS

The BQEYZ Winter is neutral bright set blending superb technicalities with tight coherency and natural timbre.

Accessories are generous, ergonomics are great, and build is solid. In addition, the Winter is very easy to drive, even for consumers without a nuclear powered source. The neutral bright tuning (without over-zealous treble glare) is perhaps down to the unique DD + bone conduction composition, and this is not a gimmick. The Winter brings a very extended treble with great air and sparkle to the table. Soundstage is expansive, with exceptional technicalities on offer. I also like the crystal-clear midrange that allows vocals and instruments to be show-cased well.

The Winter however, is not for bassheads, in view of a lack of big bass, and treble-sensitive patrons might perhaps need to use treble-taming tips (eg foams), or consider alternatives. Those wanting a very coloured signature for head-banging fun, might also need to look elsewhere.



Honestly, I was not expecting much from the Winter, as a lot of the CHIFI IEMs I have tried lately seem to be sidegrades or just following the hackneyed Harman curve. I was pleasantly surprised by the Winter's uncommon driver set-up melding the 3 Ts of timbre, tonality and technicalities superbly, and would recommend the Winter for consumers searching for something very special.

Introduction

It's quite impressive that the BQEYZ brand, with every model it releases, tries to find a new evolution. Their line of IEMS with piezo drivers is well known, which started with the Spring. It continued to evolve with the passing of the seasons (Spring 2, Summer). But something changed when Autumn came along and they created a single dynamic with the best tuning filter change design I have seen to date. When it looked like the Winter was going to be the new model, a new DD+piezo hybrid emerged with another name, called Topaz. Without a doubt, this was their most homogeneous model in its profile in this saga. And, at last, Winter arrived and with it a new hybrid with a 12mm dual-cavity dynamic driver, plus an 11.6mm PZT bone driver. According to the manufacturer's own information, the dynamic driver takes care of the low and mid frequencies. The bone conduction unit is used as a compensator for the mid and high frequencies, delivering the sound in coordination with the bone conduction support and the headphone cavity. The high frequencies are transmitted through the bone conduction, and all high-frequency roughness is cancelled out in the conduction process. Therefore, the mid and high frequencies of the Winter have a good resolution without being aggressive. After all this introduction by the manufacturer, it only remains to check whether this is the case.



Specifications

• Driver Type: 12MM Dual Cavity Dynamic Driver, PAR Diaphragm + PZT Bone Conduction.
• Frequency Response: 5Hz-40kHz.
• Sensitivity: 113dB
• Impedance: 38Ω
• Cable length: 1.2m
• Jack connector: Choice of 3.5mm/2.5mm/4.4mm
• Capsule Connection Type: 2Pin 0.78mm.

Packaging

The BQEYZ Winter comes in the classic branded box, with dimensions very similar to the rest of the products. The size is 157x119x48mm. The box is moved in grey tones, on the main side is the brand name in white letters in the top left corner. In the middle is the model name in turquoise capital letters. Underneath is the description in Chinese and English. On the back the name is at the top, the specifications in the middle and the contact details at the bottom. All this is also in Chinese and English. Removing the cardboard reveals a black box with a sandy texture. In the middle is the brand name inscription. If you open it up like a book, you can access the inside, where there is a cardboard cover that only allows you to see the capsules at the top. Underneath is the mould containing the capsules and a black zippered case. Behind the capsules there is another small box with the accessories. The complete contents are as follows:

• The two Winter capsules.
• A black zippered case with the brand name inscribed in the middle.
• A 4-strand, 49-core (0.06mmx7x7) silver-plated, hand-stranded, single crystal copper wire.
• A metal blister for storing the silicone tips.
• Three pairs of Atmosphere grey silicone tips, sizes SxMxL.
• Three pairs of grey silicone tips Reference, sizes SxMxL.
• Three pairs of black silicone tips, sizes SxMxL.
• One pair of foam tips.
• One cleaning brush.
• One certificate of guarantee.
• Instruction manual.

BQEYZ raises the number of tips included to three sets, plus a pair of foam tips. It still retains the cleaning brush, a large cable with a choice of 3.5mm/2.5mm/4.4mm and a spacious carrying case. The result is a superior value in this respect, compared to previous models. High marks.



Construction and Design

I also find the shape of the capsules clearly reminiscent of their previous models. Actually, I think it's a mix between the design of the Spring and the Autumn. From the former, it recovers that different coloured rim, in this case, the colour is a very striking turquoise green. From the latter, the general shape of the whole capsule. Both the inside and the outside of the capsule have similarities. It is clear that the inside is very similar, except that in this case there is no magnetic tuning filter. On the outer face, the surface has changed with a different pattern. In this case, there is a protruding profile in the centre, in the shape of an open L, which bifurcates into two lines, leaving a gap in the middle. What does change is the thickness of the capsule, which is generously enlarged compared to the Autumn. The lettering on the inside remains the same. There is a hole covered with a white grid near the base of the mouthpieces and closer to the rim there is another almost triangular indentation, with a hole at each vertex. The 2Pin connection is slightly different, although it keeps the oval base, the rim is slightly more projected outwards. The mouthpieces are slightly gold-plated and metallic, of a different material and colour than the capsule. They have a wider base (7.5mm), a narrower neck (5.2mm) and a slightly larger crown (5.9mm). The grille is also metallic. The rim of the right capsule reads BQEYZ and the left one WINTER. They are made of aluminium alloy by CNC-machining. The surface is anodised by sandblasting. Two colours are available, black with a metallic teal rim or silver with a rose gold rim.
The cable seems to have increased in thickness from the Autumn and is more similar to the Topaz. With 4 strands and 49 cores (0.06mmx7x7) of silver-plated, hand-stranded, single crystal copper. It has a more greyish appearance. The sleeve of its connectors is simply a smooth metal cylinder. On the 4.4mm connector (in my case) you can read BQEYZ in white letters. The splitter piece is the same but smaller, a little less than half the size. The brand name is also written on it. The last one is a metal ring, which doesn't do its job very well, because the hole is a bit too big for a more durable fit. It continues with the smooth metal cylinders for the 2Pin connectors, with a ring on the edge and white lettering to identify the colour. The cable has a transparent plastic ear guide.
Again, impeccable construction, very attractive design, quality cable. Very good materials, choice of two colours, choice of three cable connectors. I find no need to use a different cable. Only that the thickness of the capsules is higher and it seems slightly heavier than previous models.



Adjustment and Ergonomics

The size is still very ideal, although the rim is now larger and overhangs the ears more. I would say that the protrusion is subtly sharper and more pronounced than on the Autumn, which reduces the overall comfort. Although, depending on one's morphology, it may even be beneficial in terms of fit and anchorage. There is a little more projection in the mouthpieces, the base of the body seems a little longer compared to the Autumn itself. Although the length is almost the same.
The insertion is superficial and can be medium, depending on the tips used. Even bi-flange or tri-flange tips can be used, with remarkable results. Improved soundproofing because the greater projection of the nozzles allows a slightly deeper insertion than the Autumn.



Sound

Profile

I could comment that the profile is an average of the Topaz model and the Autumn model with the normal mouthpiece. In general, it also bears a similarity to the Spring II, but without the piezo snap. It is true that it has the lowest bass rating of them all, but it is also more balanced in mid-high and treble. The result is a smooth, almost W-like tuning, where the greatest enhancement is in the high-mids, with extended treble. Actually, I think that the treble curve does not match reality and that the BC driver is not reflected in the frequency response. I think there is more energy in the high band, but without implying that it is a treble-head set. It may also help that the bass is almost neutral.



Bass

The Winter's bass is really tight. It feels not very pronounced in the sub-bass, but the execution of pure tones is really very realistic and pleasing. The tone at 40Hz is totally exemplary, subtly coloured, but beautiful, precise and restrained. In development it is close to the behaviour of the planar IEMS I have reviewed, but with the more accurate sonority, behaviour and timbre of a big, technical DD. It is also true that it is not very powerful, nor is it capable of moving much air. It feels fast, tight, dry, precise and concise. Technically enviable. There's no aftertaste, the decay is immediate, there's not a hint of rubberiness in the reproduction, just enough to offer realism and a not so aseptic touch. It's very detailed and its punch feels compact, like a muffled gunshot. As is often the case with technically advanced bass, the roughness and texture is less prominent and its nature is smoother. But the great descriptive ability it possesses manages to bring a pleasant and subtle rumble, which adds an allure and beauty, capping off a great lower range.
In terms of quantity, it focuses on the mid-bass, without standing out from the rest of the range. It is a fair, neutral presence, never overpowering. Lightweight for those who like more powerful LFOs, classic as a higher priced audiophile IEM. I think BQEYZ has done well with this driver and the recreation of a very clean, expressive and technical lower range.



Mids

Thanks to a neutral bass, there is no noticeable bleed and the mids start quite clean, with a remarkable level of light and transparency. I would say that the first half is also neutral, there is an average between physicality, presence and thinness, the sound is on the edge of all that. Although the tendency is to sound thinner. There is no oppressive capacity, nor much density. What's more, it's a rather loose and free-flowing first part. Coming from the S12 Pro's and their wall of sound, the Winter's offer a less full and opulent response. The IEMS are more delicate and brighter in that area. In this case, the emphasis on the upper mids makes female vocals and nuances more explicit, sounding more forward. Although it can't be said that they are mid-centric IEMS either. BQEYZ manage to keep a relative distance from the listener, without sounding intimate. That more pronounced exposure borders on the hot spot and there are those notes with frequencies between the mid to treble transition, which can sound above even the female vocals, something that gives it a prominence that can be unwanted. But on most of the test tracks in my collection, the Winter was kept in check, even smoother than I might think. I might conclude that these are IEMS for enjoying detail and nuance at low to moderate volume levels. They don't require a lot of power to demonstrate their technical ability, but you might miss more body and a bit more power in the low-mids. But, really, that's what neutrality is all about and the Winter's are like that.
On a technical level, this new model is very advanced throughout the range. I would give better marks to its technical skills than to its timbre. It is very fast and precise, very capable of separating and unravelling nuances and details, and presenting them coherently, in an orderly and musical manner. I appreciate that he is delicate in this respect and does not focus solely on that aspect.



Treble

In principle, the high end should be dominated by the bone conduction driver. But although the operation of the bone driver should be beneficial through physical contact, it seems that the overall sound benefits from it. I don't know the ins and outs of this technology as applied to these IEMS, but my sense is that it delivers more treble than the graph depicts. After all, microphones don't have bones... The theory put forward by the brand is that such a driver offers a more delicate and softer sound, not as abrupt and harsh as other emitters. This allows the exposure to be high without the sound suffering from overly bright or excessive behaviour in this area. The detail, expressiveness and information extraction capability may lie in that principle, hence these IEMS are technically very advanced in these respects. But the conjunction of the neutrality of the lower range and the first part of the mid-range also helps to make the sensation of light, detail and brightness feel more prominent. In this way, although the graph starts with the classic roll-off or control zone, this goes unnoticed and nothing else can be observed other than a certain compensation for the initial work of the bone conduction driver. This is how the sense of brightness feels measured. I went through the harder songs in this respect and the Winter always presented the treble with good control. It doesn't feel overly energetic or bright, the behaviour is bright but well weighted, vivid and explicit, but measured at that high point. So I think the theory expressed by the manufacturer has paid off.
It is clear that there is an emphasis on this range and that the hot zone is centred here. The sparkle is concentrated in this area, but it is a well expressed level. It is only worth pointing out that this is so for those fans who are more sensitive in this respect.
On the other hand, somehow, the BC driver seems to have a special ability to add a different sonority to the treble. My feeling is that, just as a DD or a BA has a different timbre, there is something of that here, but this is not a derogatory statement by any means. Perhaps there is a physical point to take into account. After all, that is what it is all about.
Be that as it may, the treble is boosted, but restrained to a remarkable degree. They are clearly expressive, defined and full of resolution. They have good extension and an excellent informative capacity. Moreover, their speed and technical ability are responsible for the outstanding expressiveness they possess. The Winters are very resolute in this area.



Soundstage, Separation

With a clean, technical and luminous presentation that favours transparency and exposition of detail, the Winters feel spacious and airy. They are very good at presenting and spacing nuances. The level of layering of these is appropriate and the scene takes advantage of this expansive capacity. The expressiveness of detail is surrounding and rather than generating a wide or very full scene, what happens is that the presentation is distanced and forms a cloud around the head, with sounds and nuances coming from all directions. This creates a volatile feeling and the music seems to escape from the head, although there is control there.
On the other hand, I miss some more depth and a bit of cohesion. Rather, a more physical or corporeal feeling, to generate a more forceful scene with more presence. But I understand that combining both characteristics must be much more complicated. In this case, the Winters advocate a spatial and gaseous delicacy.
Finally, I would like to comment that, despite its ability to extract information, I don't find the Winters to be clearly analytical or cold. Perhaps this is due to the softness that the BC driver offers. Although it is also true that offering more visible detail does not place it among the most capable IEMS in the representation of micro details, although it is quite good.



Comparisons

NiceHCK F1 Silver Filter

Once again, I am comparing these planar IEMS that I have not yet reviewed. First, because they are a big surprise, as far as sound is concerned. Second, because they bear a certain similarity to the Winter. At the time of writing this review, the Winter is priced at 247€ for the 4.4mm version. The F1, in the same version, is priced at 166€.
Design-wise they are very different. The Winter follows the trend in terms of the shape of the capsules and NiceHCK changes the model with a design reminiscent of the Letshuoer D13, but with shorter mouthpieces. Everyone has a say in which design they like best, in terms of appearance. But for ergonomic reasons, I prefer the Winter. The short nozzles of the F1 have given me a headache when it comes to finding tips that can extract their full potential. I don't even think I've been able to find them. With the more classic Winter shape I have had no problems. The Winter comes with slightly more accessories and a better cable. Both cases are very good. The F1 tips are a bit generic. But there is also a price difference to consider.
As far as sound is concerned, my surprise has been in a quick change from one to the other. Compared to the F1, the Winter sounds more muted, perhaps it would be more appropriate to say warm, analogue and organic. Everything is brighter and shinier with the F1. There is a more striking, explicit and direct expressiveness with the NiceHCK planars. But the bass level seems almost the same, despite the visible differences in both frequency responses. Maybe it's because the sealing with the F1 is not as good as with the Winter. I think that the tips I use are not the most suitable to get the best presence in the low end of the F1s. In this aspect, I don't miss anything with the Winter. As I mentioned in the review, the Winter has a low end that reminds me of the planars, in terms of speed and behaviour. But they improve their less coloured and less realistic sonority compared to the F1s, something that is noticeable when reproducing pure low frequency tones. The result is a more sensory bass, with more air movement in the BQEYZs. Otherwise, in technical matters, the similarities are great and the differences lie more in the higher amount of sub-bass in the F1s, which provide a slightly more powerful and punchy feel and a little more depth.
In the mid-range there is a point of higher density in the F1 planars. Also noticeable is their more frontal sound and wall-of-sound feel. The Winter's volatility creates a more hollow, yet expansive feel, something that also thins out the sense of physicality and body, both in vocals and instrumentation. The mid-range presentation is more explicit on the F1s, with a homogeneity throughout. Whereas on the Winter there is a more natural and organic flow. In the F1s everything is exposition, in the Winters there are sensations, a movement of voices and instruments. In the F1s the perception is of a more static sound, closer, nearer... that wall I talk about so much. There is nothing wrong with either of them, but each one must value the informative, frontal and expressive presentation of the F1s, instead of the more traditional, more moving exposition of the Winters.
In the treble, despite the Winter's high level, the F1s feel more elevated, with a higher level of energy. Not for nothing do they present a vast plateau all the way to the air zone. The Winter's control zone, though small, balances this feeling. The generation of a full and homogeneous sound in terms of energy is maintained in all ranges of the F1s. The Winters provide a breath in every range and feel more suitable for extended use. The F1s are so explicit that they can become saturated and the presence of the high end has an impact on this. The detail is more explosive, more so than the Winter. That's why I still value the good performance of the BC driver over a planar that is excited in the high end.
In terms of scenery, the Winters are more three-dimensional, volatile and gaseous. They don't have much depth, the separation is more circular. The F1s are wider and more frontal, not that they are very deep either. But the feeling of their vast sound offers a wide, generous soundstage with good laterality and height. The Winters win in spatial recreation and in their ability to project sound from more angles. The physical feel of the F1s projects an image that is easier to locate, where elements are more fixed to the scene and more distinguishable. The Winters are more vaporous in this respect, offering a more diluted reconstruction.



Conclusion

The Winters are a further step in BQEYZ's exploration of high-frequency drivers. Fans of the brand are familiar with their development of piezo drivers. Now they innovate once again with a bone driver that delivers an explicit, yet silky treble. True to a design idea, the great appeal of its shape means that each iteration continues to look beautiful and contemporary. The accessories live up to the price, although the price is somewhat higher than their standard siblings. They also have a slightly thicker capsule.
In terms of sound, the Winters have created a dynamic driver with the technical characteristics of a planar, but with the sonority, timbre and presentation characteristic of traditional drivers. But it is the new bone driver that gives it a distinctive effect in the high end. Undoubtedly, this is a boost that tends to make up for the shortcomings of a full-range DD, despite the effectiveness of these in today's day and age. The result is a neutral sound, with a low end of enormous quality, a midrange that moves between two waters, a thinner first part and a higher and more explicit second part. It is in the treble where the potential of the BC driver is exposed to extend a superior energy, but always controlled and suitably educated, with the aim of maintaining the balance of neutrality that they treasure in the rest of the bands. The sound of the BQEYZ Winter proves R&D right.



Sources Used During the Analysis

• Aune Flamingo.
• Earmen Angel.
• TempoTec Variations V6.
• Hidizs AP80 PRO-X Red Copper Limited Edition.
• ACMEE MF02s.
• xDuoo XD05 BAL.
• TempoTec Serenade X + iFi Zen Can.

Ratings

• Construction and Design: 88
• Adjustment/Ergonomics: 89
• Accessories: 78
• Bass: 92
• Mids: 85
• Treble: 91
• Separation: 90
• Soundstage: 90
• Quality/Price: 86

Purchase Link



You can read the full review in Spanish here

Disclaimer

First and foremost, I would love to express my utmost gratitude to BQEYZ and Edmund from AudioMonsta for organizing this Malaysia tour review of the BQEYZ Winter, all your efforts are greatly appreciated not just from me but from other fellow reviewers that has joined as well.
That’s being said, the following review was done entirely using stock eartips provided in the box and zero EQ is applied to prevent any personal bias throughout the whole testing period. I’ve also yet to experience the previous models under the seasonal series (eg; Autumn, Spring and etc) releases of BQEYZ in-ear monitors, hence my comments and comparisons are limited to what I currently have.
Lastly, a gentle reminder that all opinions and thoughts are solely based on my experience, sound preference which is vastly tilted towards Diffused-field target. My impressions also will be based on my knowledge about sound in general and finally, BQEYZ nor any third-party connections has zero influence on me to say anything good or bad about the product.

Click to expand...

Introduction
BQEYZ Winter is the fourth in-ear monitor under BQEYZ’s seasonal flagship series that was released late during 2022. Following to the success of previous releases like Spring, Summer and Autumn, BQEYZ decided to release the Winter which finalize the complete all four seasons.

Similarly to the previous seasonal flagships too, each of them are designed with unique driver combinations for example the Spring and Summer were tribrids and the Autumn was designed with a single-dynamic configuration. Likewise with the Winter, is designed with a hybrid dual-driver arrangement that houses a 12mm polyarylate (PAR) diapghram single-dynamic driver and an 11.6mm Piezoelectric (PZT) Bone Conduction driver on each side. To add more, supposedly the single-dynamic will be in charged producing the sound for low and mid frequencies, while the PZT driver is in charge for delivering high frequencies, which is quite uncommon given the that most bone conduction drivers are meant to deliver low and mid frequencies. But either way, it will be interesting to test out how BQEYZ managed to implement this technology into their IEM.

For your information too, the Winter retails for around $239 which makes it the cheapest in-ear monitor with a Bone Conduction driver at a fairly competitive price bracket between $200-300 which has seen pretty impressive, outstanding IEM releases by other brands. Without further ado, let’s jump straight into the review!


Specifications

• Driver: 12mm Single-dynamic Driver with Polyarylate (PAR) diaphragm + 11.6mm Piezoelectric (PZT) Bone Conduction Driver.
• Impedance: 38 Ohms
• Sensitivity: 113 dB/SPL
• Frequency: 5-40KHz
• Cable Length: 1.2m
• Cable Specifications: 4 core braided crystal copper plated silver (SPC) cable
• Connection Type: 0.78mm 2-pin with 3.5mm Single-ended and 2.5mm/4.4mm Pentaconn Balanced

Packaging
Packaging wise, pretty much similar to the previous BQEYZ releases that I’ve seen over the past which is a basic small box, featuring a simple flip box, behind a slide cover which has all the informations regarding the IEM such as specifications and etc. There’s nothing seemed overly fancy or flashy about it but as you unbox even much further, you will be greeted with the Winter itself resting on a cut-out foam which securely hold the IEM in place and considerably loads of essential and miscellaneous accessories as per expected since this is a flagship model.

To make things brief, here are the listed accessories you will receive upon unboxing;

• Standard faux leather travel case with BQEYZ embedded brand on top.
• An eartip organizer made from metal which houses up to 6 pair of eartips
• 3 pairs of “Atmosphere” eartips of different sizes
• 3 pairs of “Reference” eartips of different sizes
• 3 pairs of generic spare eartips of different sizes
• A pair of BQEYZ Comply foam
• A cleaning brush
• A Velcro tape for cable
• Couple paperworks regarding manual and quality control (QC) card

Cable provided by BQEYZ for the Winter is a basic 4 core crystal copper, silver plated cable (SPC) with a 2-pin (0.78mm) connection which is common for most IEMs nowadays. The unit I received in particular is in 4.4mm Pentaconn plug but also available in 2.5mm balanced and 3.5mm single-ended. It’s a good cable in my opinion, nothing too extravagant about it, they’re fairly light, soft, non-microphonic when in contact with clothes or surfaces and resistant to tangle up quite well.


Build/Comfort
BQEYZ nailed it again regarding the build quality of the Winter which followed the rest of previous model, it features a fully lightweight metal shell that’s CNC milled meticulously and precise. Combined with an anodized matte black finish, the metallic turquoise colour along the perimeter of the IEM and wavelines on the faceplate that “resembles skiing terrain” by BQEYZ, gives the Winter a special distinctive look. As far as connections are concerned, the Winter uses similar 2-pin (0.78mm) connections that are sturdy and firm as with all the previous seasonal BQEYZ in-ear release. The Winter is available in multiple colour to choose from, such as Black and Silver with either Metallic Green or Rose Gold faceplate rims.

The in-ear itself is pretty lightweight in my hands despite the large shell which in comparison were marginally larger to the TRI iOne. Not to be fooled by the size, but a pair of Winter (without cable) is as light as the Acoustune RS One, and still marginally lighter than one piece of the iOne. In terms of comfort, ergonomically the Winter is quite comfy given when used with suitable eartips, this is due to the large, stubby nozzle and the awkwardly designed arc that supposedly rest on your cymba cochlea similar to the iOne. Except, the Winter has a much extreme arc shape that seems to hit and miss whilst wearing them on which seems to give an impact to the isolation which might be a problem if you have a weirdly shaped ear, but personally so I think the fit is well for everybody.


Isolation
In terms of isolation, the Winter seals a fine snug even with my best effort to find the best seal as possible with the stock eartips. Furthermore, the vent holes on each side of the IEM for the bone conduction and single-dynamic impacts the overall seal capability of the Winter as well. During my personal test, even when using the provided “Atmospehere” tips which gave the best isolation, yet I could still hear my surrounding quite well as if I’m using foam eartips, these compromises could be taken into account if listeners would want to use them in public environment.


Scalability/Source
I tested the Winter through multiple platforms such as;

• Spotify + Local files (FLAC, WAV, DSD) via Foobar2000 on laptop (-5.00dB) > SMSL Sanskrit 10th MKII > Aune X7s
• Local files (FLAC, WAV, DSD) via HibyMusic Player (in-app volume on 15) > Letshuoer DT02 DAC/AMP dongle
• Notebook
• Smartphones

Based on my methodology and available equipments at the period, the BQEYZ Winter is an in-ear that requires quite some juice to make it sing really well. They’re harder to drive than my iOne which I usually would set on 10-1030 o’clock position. In comparison, to the Winter which requires me to crank the volume knob on my Aune X7s up to 12-1 o’clock position. Similar to the level which I powered my Acoustune RS One with all of them are tested on low gain settings.

Even so, I think that the Winter will run quite decently off a phone. But investing on a decent dongle, DAP or portable DAC/AMP would be better to maximise the Winter performance whlist maintain portability, since in today’s day and age those devices are just at the end of your fingertips.





Sound Quality
BQEYZ Winter is tuned more inclined towards a much milder variant of the Harman Curve or V-shape as some would call it. To me, the Winter sounded in between analytical and balanced with all frequencies are evenly distributed. That’s being said, there’s a tad emphasis in the higher frequencies which gave the Winter its analytical tone. Briefly speaking low frequency region, the Winter presents a fair gentle, ample bass punch and each impact greeted with a polite punch but also a tad dry in term of tonal quality, so bassheads might want to look away from this set. Furthermore, treble produced by the Piezo (PZT) bone conduction driver, was rather.. unamusingly cold. They are not bad by any means, but in my opinion it is something that listeners with treble sensitivity should keep in mind. In my opinion, it was rather harsh almost as if it was gritty depends on tracks and genres I tuned-in. The only redeeming factor that I would give the Winter a listen was that its midrange is well-done, lusciously warm and nicely pristine, it just somewhat brings something that comforts us which I will explain much futher in detail.

• Low Frequencies (Bass)

Starting off with the bass response, the Winter provides listener with a lean, mildly warm low-end character. There’s not a lot of bass punch to savour but it is certainly ample to give a feel of enjoyment, each impact that hits was tight yet the mid to upper bass impact is rather a polite chest. The Winter presents bass cleanly, free from mud or bleed towards the rest of the frequencies but mediocre in terms of mid to sub-bass depth. Tonally, it could sound quite dry and unamusing sometimes but I’m sure it is fixeable with the right eartips or system synergy. Despite the setbacks, the Winter impressed me with brilliantly snappy, tactile bass speed which I tested playing the track Hunter by Björk, and could easily be said that the Winter handled it well above my expectation.
Diving deeper to test the sub-bass region, was where the Winter also starts to falls short. I played my usual track to test for sub-bass and etc, which is Hollow (16-bit Remix) by Björk, followed with bad guy by Billie Eilish. I could tell that the polyarylate driver that powers the low to mid frequencies was struggling poorly to produce sub-bass rumble, reverberations, mediocre detail clarity and texture. To add more, bass decay was rather fast for a dynamic driver, despite its larger 12mm size. Even so, with the rest of the tracks such as Anesthetize by Porcupine Tree and couple more from Red Hot Chilli Peppers was pretty well, all instruments are distinguishable from one another, fairly decent energy but electric guitars and basses definitely lost their weighty, full bodied grunts by a fair amount which left me unamusingly cold.

• Middle Frequencies (Midrange)

Next, moving onto the midrange, which to me was the strong key element to choose the Winter. Midrange on the Winter could be described as lush, articulated, pristine clean and euphonic. Colouration is moderate, evident within this region with decent forwardness giving listeners a sense of naturalness, vibrance and intimacy, sort of receiving a nice warm greeting. One of my favourite part, was when I gave a listen to a song titled, Keroncong Hybrid Untuk Bidadari by Pot Amir, a local Malaysian artist. Every time when it reached till chorus part of the song, voices of the backing vocalist joined harmony, coherently with the vocalist whilst their vocal tone still can be heard separately without any melding. Which I could not achieve in any of the in-ear that I compared the Winter to. Switching into something that’s more relaxing like Nightingale (Alternate Ver. Allaire Session) by Norah Jones. One of my favourite vocalist, again the Winter presents her vocal superbly smooth and fine even on the highest vocal point into that song which on some IEMs that I tested previously, will sound grainy and lack in body but the Winter done it brilliantly well with just the right amount colouration,

As I tested the Winter much further, clarity in identifying nuances within this region is quite decent during most of my listening session, I was able to pick up pretty much everything within the midrange spectrum audibly well. Brass, percussions and etc has pleasant warm tonality giving a fairly natural and organic experience, except strings instruments for example acoustic guitar and anything similarly to that might sound a tad thin especially within the high notes

• High Frequencies (Treble)

Higher frequencies was where I began to doubt more about the Winter and the capabilities of the PZT bone conduction driver, because it was an experience of more to heard than felt but I would not speculate much, even so, I’m more than glad to try and see how it performs. Let’s start straight away with the good things. I would describe the treble on the Winter as cool instead of bright, it has a decent amount of treble energy, presence and plenty of air giving it a pleasant sense of cool wide ambience. The Winter presents higher frequencies with a fairly tame treble sparkle, crisp and brilliance, easy to listen and nowhere to be regarded as aggressive to most listeners

Now moving onto the negatives, and listeners with accentuated sensitivity to higher frequencies might want to look away. As much as the Winter is praised, this in-ear is prone to sibilance which can be harshly annoying and fatiguingly shrilling almost as if it was somewhat gritty especially if your genre is oriented to J-Pop, K-Pop, R&B and etc. Can’t be denied that I personally had to take them off for a break, after listening for 30-45 minutes. Other than that, timbrally some instruments and things like cymbals, hi-hats, crashes tonally sounded a tad thin and tizzy at times as well.



Technicalities
Right off the bat, let’s start with soundstaging. In my opinion, the soundstage of the Winter was spacious, airy it was above average I would safely say the Winter has a balanced panning of width, depth but falls a bit short on height. Then, combined with a sharp spatial imaging made it two of the strong technicalities of the Winter, listening to Rhythm by Jamey Haddad in his binaural album Explorations in Space and Time and I was able to follow closely to the sound of chimes panning to multiple directions and height. Meanwhile, in terms of detail retrieval the Winter capability able to pick up nuances were decent, an experience of hit and miss happens occasionally, which I expect should somewhat be better at least.

As we move on, layering presented by the Winter is pretty solid and I’m impressed by how the Winter was able to show differential stages between distances in couple tracks that I’ve tested with. Separation in the other hand was a whole different story, in my opinion it was pretty decent. For example, in the song War by Jamey Haddad, multiple sound of drums and cymbals hitting that are supposedly each separated were found to suffer a bit of melding. Lastly, dynamic range of the Winter was also decent, not the widest but can be regarded good nonetheless. As per usual, I used a WAV audio sample from ABYSS Headphones Test (in the video's description box) from ABYSS Headphones. Where they play a sound of a drum and a bell. The drum will always play at a constant volume, while the bell will gradually become quieter. Out of 7 counts, the Winter only managed to score 5 which is still average in my book.



Comparisons

• TRI Audio iOne (10mm, Carbon PET N52 NdFeB 1DD) - $279

TRI Audio iOne was also one of the flagship which was released later in 2022, it became one of my favourite in-ear due to its superb low frequency without neglecting technical performance. Priced only $40 more to the Winter but without the bone conduction technology, hence I decided to compare the two head-on.

Comparatively speaking, the iOne was definitely a bassier in-ear, and much relaxed, thicker and fuller note density which suitable for prolongued listening to the much cleaner, dryer sounding Winter that’s synonymous to analytical pair of in-ear. That’s being said, the iOne also offers better low frequency performance which I mentioned the Winter was severely lacking off. Sub-bass depth extends far deeper, much textured and dynamic range was hands down better on the iOne. Despite, both are sharing the same level of bass resolution and speed.

Next, speaking of midrange performance the Winter is definitely the clear winner here compared to the much recessed, much laid-back iOne. BQEYZ Winter presents a far greater and much forward presence to the iOne bringing vocal closer, an enhanced intimate experience to the listener whilst separating clearly instruments in the backgound. Winter is also has a much warmer, a tad cleaner, fuller timbre. Although, it fell a bit short in terms of midrange clarity and detail which what the iOne is in my opinion, superbly at.

Lastly, in the treble region and technical aspect the iOne is again almost all better against the Winter. I could not find the iOne to be sibilance compared to the Winter as per mention in the SQ. Treble presence, brilliance and detail retrieval was much better on the iOne. They’re far crisper, significantly less harsh, timbrally much organic and inoffensive compared to the harsher, peakier Winter. Albeit, the Winter is clear from any treble smearing, which I mentioned in my previous review regarding the TRI flagship. Both flagships offer similarly airy, sharp spatial imaging, and spacious soundstaging with the iOne were a tad more extended in terms of width and height, dynamic range was also much wider to the Winter.

• Acoustune RS One (9.2mm, Myrinx 1DD) - $139-150

Next up on the list is the RS One, another single-dynamic coming from a brand that is no stranger within the audiophile community. Might also be asking yourself, what could an in-ear that’s significantly far cheaper have to offer against a $239 flagship?

Despite being cheaper, the RS One is far from incompetent to the Winter. Similar to the previous comparison, also being a much fun sounding pair, low-end performance for the RS One is much elevated, tonally warmer, bolder, and engagingly impactful mid-bass with every bass hits compared to the Winter. Moreover, the RS One has a much greater, deeper sub-bass depth and bass decay while, the Winter in the other hand offers cleaner bass, much clinical and precise bass resolution and much faster, nimble bass response especially within the mid to upper bass region.

In terms of midrange, the RS One shares the same midrange emphasis, the Japanese is a bit more aggressive, a tad shouty sometimes, as if it was the unrefined version of Winter. Advantage over the Winter which has a much more fluidity sort of smoothness or lushness within the midrange and much natural timbrally with just enough colouration. Plus, shouty vocals are nowhere to be found unlike the RS One. Yet, seemingly the Winter have a bit more laid-back presentation, a tad distant, which probably due to the fact that the Winter is evidently has a larger, much spacious sounstaging. Meanwhile, the RS One is a significantly more intimate and cramped in soundstaging.

Speaking of treble and technical aspect, both IEMs had the fair share of sibilance between them with the Winter is a bit more sharper, meanwhile the RS One is sort of grainy. There’s much more liveliness and presence in the treble of RS One which I personally like without it causing any fatigueness, at least after more than an hour listening. Winter in the other hand has a much airy treble which compliments the spacious soundstage, but at the same time Winter has a much dryer treble, sounded a tad thinner. Speaking of timbre, both IEM has somewhat weird treble timbre with the Winter sounded much thinner and the RS One is slightly more metallic. Other technical parts which I have not mentioned, simply said almost all are better on Winter compared to the RS One, but even so the RS One excels slightly better, wider in terms of dynamic range.

Hence, for whom this IEM truly is?

Click to expand...

Let’s start off with that question and as far that I could tell, BQEYZ Winter is a set for someone who prefers a milder version of the Harman Curve, a tuning between analytical sounding in-ear whilst still keeping the harmony balance between the rest of the frequencies. It is also a really good set for those who can take advantage for its remarkble midrange performance. I could find no frequency inbalance, by means one frequency is overpowering or purposely emphasized to the other despite the small emphasis within the higher frequencies. It had a fair share of balanced technicalities as well, and I am certainly impressed that BQEYZ kept it’s promise that the Winter is capable of delivering wide spacious soundstage and commendable seperation.


Conclusion
Overall to wrap it up, the Winter performed rather underwhelming at least in terms of SQ alone, there’s nothing wrong with the tuning as far as I’m concerned, probably due to the excecution that’s still isn’t quite right. Given the fact, that it retails for $239 and at the price point of above $150-200. Stricter measures had to be made to justify the asking price and for me, the Winter was just too overpriced for how it performs and to justify the poor quality of the polyarylate single-dynamic. There are more option that might serve better and a more complete sounding IEMs within the same price range or cheaper compared to the Winter. Based on my experience having them for a week, I couldn’t find much joy everytime I put the Winter on to try and eventually became a hard thing for me to love. Although, I tried to tune into the songs that I usually comforts me the Winter somehow kills the emotion that the music was trying to express.

Either way, I would love to say thank you very much again to BQEYZ and AudioMonsta for the gifted chance to test the BQEYZ Winter and also to everyone that has spent your precious time to enjoy my write-up, till next time.



Test Tracks
Here are my personal curated playlist that I’ve used throughout the whole testing period;
(Click via the names to check out the songs)

Anesthetize by Porcupine Tree
Aquatic Mouth Dance by Red Hot Chilli Peppers
bad guy by Billie Eilish
Black Summer by Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Drum Improvisation by Jim Keltner
Explorations in Space and Time by Jamey Haddad, Lenny White and Mark Sherman
Hollow (16-bit Remix) by Björk ft 16-bit
Hunter by Björk
Keroncong Hybrid Untuk Bidadari by Pot Amir
Mad About You (Live at Koningin Elisabethzaal) by Hooverphonic
Masih by Pot Amir
Nightingale (Alternate Ver. Allaire Session) by Norah Jones
Painter’s Song (Alternate Ver. Allaire Session) by Norah Jones
Psychosocial by Slipknot
Sex and Candy by Marcy Playground
Timbres by Yosi Horikawa
Whiskey Lullaby (ft Allison Krauss) by Brad Paisley
White Braids and Yellow Pillows by Red Hot Chilli Peppers

INTRODUCTION:

Bqeyz (Best Quality Earphone For You), is as close to explaining the brand’s name, is a company I really adore and have my highest regard for. To give you a quick history, it is them that got me started with this endless hobby and passion in audio particularly with their KC2 that I keep to this day.

The company is known for its innovative tech. A company that carefully thinks of its releases and not just randomly repeating itself with monthly releases and barely changing anything with its products. When Bqeyz releases a product, it is something worthy of your attention and time.

And today, we have the conclusion of Bqeyz’s season series, the Winter. A dynamic driver fused with bone conduction tech. I am unfamiliar with bone conduction that much and honestly has not tried any gear with this tech.

So do I think that Winter is worthy to end the season series? Join me and find out.

FOREWORD:​

• The gear on hand has undergone at least 10-15 hours of use before it was assessed.
• No EQ is ever applied in my reviews.
• For the sake of convenience, I try my best to use a stock setup. Not everyone has access to personal ear tips or cables. If personal ear tips, cables, or accessories are used, you will be notified.
• As I try to be objective, my claims inevitably will be subjective and biased to my personal preference. I cannot stress more that you should take this with a grain of salt for we have different perceptions to sound and what we hear.
• Stock setup is used for the entirety of this review. Concerning tips, the wide bore is used, M in size.

SPECIFICATIONS:​

Configuration: 1 x 12mm Dynamic driver, 1 x 11.6mm bone conductor
Impedance: 38ohms
Sensitivity: 113db
Freq response: 5hz - 40khz

PACKAGING:​

Bqeyz always offers a minimalist approach to their products and packaging is no exception. No fancy designs here or any of that Waifu characters that I, personally, is not a fan of. The box has a teal and grayish colorway (which are some of my favorite colors) and is designed elegantly.

Inclusions are sufficient and for the first time, Winter comes with a generous amount of ear tips with a unique presentation. Below are the inclusions.

1. a set of Winter IEM
2. a cable (pristine quality if I must say)
3. a pair of foam tips
4. three pairs of stiff tips labeled Atmosphere
5. three pairs of wide bore tips labeled Reference
6. three pairs of narrow bore, soft black tips

Bqeyz went the extra mile on ear tips and I appreciate the effort. Though I am biased to wide bore tips, you now have extended options to choose from to suit your preference.

SOUND IMPRESSIONS:​

I find the Winter a highly musical and engaging piece of gear for music appreciation and an effective tool for musicians like myself.

If I’m going to be brutally honest, I can say that the Winter is the most constructive set I have for the sole purpose of deciphering music concerning chordal harmonies, hunting underlying instruments, constructing vocal harmonies, and detail retrieval. Let’s dive deeper now.

Unless you are a basshead, the lows are clean, fast, transparent, and is packaged with good weight, density, and punch. Probably the quickest bass response I have heard in a DD configuration. Never did I encounter the lows being muddy or bleeding to other frequencies. Presented in an almost neutral sound, well controlled and defined. Drum kicks and bass guitars are punchy and edgy in a good way that will satisfy most listeners. Sub-bass extension is there but dissipates quite quickly resulting in a very clean sound presentation.

The mids are perfect to my ears with lushness and richness and well placed by being not recessed and too forward. Vocals are rightly placed where they should be without any favors to either male or female vocals. Mids come with good density and weight and with the proper and correct tone and timbre. Well textured and intimate details are prominently audible. Orchestral tracks especially concerning string sections like violins, cellos, contrabass, and woodwinds are very desirable. My main instrument which is the piano is truthfully presented with different tone colors with the likes of Ryo Fukui and Bill Evans. Guitars from rock tracks give good grit, bite, air, and texture. I can hear those micro details from overdrives and distortions effect emitted by electric guitars namely from Rage Against the Machine tracks. George Benson’s jazz guitar was delivered with impeccable and on-point tonality and the driver is quick enough to catch up with fast licks by the artist.

At first, the trebles seemed rolled off but as I listened and burned in, the trebles opened up quite nicely and satisfied me with their openness, air, and good reach to upper frequencies. I would like to point out that cymbals and hi-hats are nicely favored by Winter and are probably the most distinct set I have in presenting the trebles. It never did come with sibilance and never felt borderline unpleasant or fatiguing with the exception of Red Hot Chilli Peppers tracks as I find their mix and recording quite too brilliant and fatiguing to listen to. Unless you are a treble cannon. A ton of details are put in the light with Winter on how trebles are presented and you will definitely enjoy new elements coming to light. Not to mention, trebles exhibit a common ground with the lows and mids in terms of weight, density, and body.

Conclusively, Winter portrayed a highly addictive musicality and natural tone that makes me come back to it again and again. Through the whole frequency spectrum, everything is pretty much well controlled. In a nutshell, it is a balance-neutral sound signature, with a very subtle emphasis on lows that can be discerned on bass-heavy tracks yet never sounded overbearing. It is a legit all-rounder and even simple songs are presented nicely and highly engaging. Winter managed to hit all points that I look for in my book.

TECHNICALITIES:​

Let me start that Winter exhibit some TOTL traits in technicalities. It is that good. Here you thought that the sound was good enough to satisfy yet Winter pushes it furthermore. Let’s dive in.

Sound stage is something Bqeyz is fond of. One year ago they released Autumn which have unbelievable headroom. The same can be said with Winter. For the sake of comparison, they are on par. While the sound stage is not something to expect in IEMs, Winter excels in giving you that sense of holographic sound presentation. I barely use this term because I think it is overrated, but with Winter the term “holographic” is justified and redefined.

Speed caught me by surprise and I can safely claim that this DD driver, does not behave like one. Transients, attacks, and decays are on par with my favorite hybrid IEMs namely Kinera Idun Golden, Audiosense DT300, Seeaudio Bravery. It is undeniably fast and snappy. Winter did not sweat with my complex tracks like Harper Lewis by Russian Circles and Stress by Pain of Salvation. Breaking down fast licks as a musician was a breeze.

Now the pinnacle of Winter’s technicalities is its imaging, separation, and layering which for me alone, is the main selling point. Never have I heard separation this clean and transparent with my other IEMs. Hence being the most constructive set I have mainly for deciphering and breaking down songs that comes second nature to me as a gigging musician. Undeniably, instruments and vocals have their own room and space and are layered with accuracy. The placement of elements is on TOTL level which reminded me of ADV M5-6d. In my book, this technical term is my priority and something that tickles my fancy and Winter left me in awe.

Scaling portrays noticeable improvements and Winter loves added power. Though not a glutton and is easily content even with the conventional 3.5mm termination. Listening to balanced outputs exhibits added clarity, transparency, and a tad of push on the mid frequencies. Vocals seemed a bit forward with added juice from your sources. Sound signature is maintained and managed not to be altered when fed on balanced outputs.

Conclusively, Winter nailed it again on technicalities pushing further what it's capable of. Details are well heard and prominent with clarity, transparency, and accuracy paired with correct tone and timbre performing on par with my hybrids. It serves me effectively in my needs as a musician and audiophile. Technical capabilities exceeded my expectations and managed to not be strident and provided me soul and musicality for my listening pleasure.

Additional note:
I shared impressions with my son, who is younger and assumed that he has better coverage of hearing than me. And I got to say I have to agree with him with what I’m gonna tell you. And it is concerning about the bone conduction of Winter. This revelation became more evident when Aful Performer 5 came to my doorstep.

I can’t technically explain the sensation and experience but in the simplest terms, I and my son concluded that what we are hearing with Winter is like this. Winter puts us in a place, like a “forest” and immerses us in that environment and gives us that unique reverberation. Unlike Aful P5, which I personally think has an intimate sound stage, Winter gives us this peculiar space. I think it is not sound stage but rather a sensation of being in a place and the sound surrounds us, with pinpoint placement.

I honestly find it hard to express in words and I hope that you will discern this too should you decide to take the plunge of having Winter in your possession. It is quite immersive and the experience is soothing. My son told me that even with the given space, details and instruments never felt far, pushed, or recessed. It is a unique and peculiar experience that Bqeyz often has in their releases. Topaz, which was released months ago, is a dark-sounding IEM but manages to shine details in the trebles that are quite fascinating.

Conclusively, this added reverb is more prominent and easy to spot on vocals. Naturally, reverb sometimes makes details a little fuzzy but Winter did not compromise any details.

FIT & ISOLATION:​

Bqeyz fitting has been consistent since their early releases. And that is being shallow. Resulting in somewhat average isolation, but never bothered me. I honestly believe that this plays a huge role in why Bqeyz has that unique sound stage. The fit hovers somewhere between an IEM and earbuds territory which is comfortable to wear. If you are accustomed to deep insertion, consider this before taking the plunge. You might want to turn up that listening volume a bit to isolate you and your music from outside noise but it never was a deal breaker, to begin with.

COMPARISONS:​

We all love comparing. Let's admit it. Here I will try to give you short and concise differences with other single DD's I have in my possession and later on with my favorite hybrids.

Source: Questyle QP2R
Tracks: Redefine by Incubus, Got to get you into my Life by E.W.F., Off Broadway by George Benson, Patience by Guns & Roses, Fragments of Time by Daft Punk, East of the Sun by Diana Krall

vs Tforce Yuan li:

• Yuan li requires more power to show full potential
• Winter beats Yuan li in terms of accuracy on instrument placement.
• Yuan li portrays a dark sound signature. Winter has a better treble extension.
• The speed of drivers is almost the same.
• Yuan li has more weighted lows.
• Winter wins in terms of sound stage.
• Both emit natural and organic sound presentations.
• Winter has more punch mid-bass. More defined and textured.
• Transparency and clarity goes to Winter.
• Winter has more forward mids.

Conclusively, Winter has an edge over Yuan li on technicalities by a small margin. Winter is the brighter set, and Yuan li is a bit darker or warm in terms of sound.

vs Sonic Memory SM2:

• SM2 has a dark sound signature. Winter again is the brighter set.
• Sound stage goes again to Winter.
• Speed goes to Winter.
• Detail retrieval goes to Winter.
• SM2 somewhat possesses a laid-back character. Winter has a more aggressive and energetic sound presentation.
• Winter will have more appeal to mid-centrics. SM2 shows a hint of recession in the mids department.
• Both show great natural and proper tonality and timbre.

Conclusively, SM2 shows a laid-back character while Winter presents its sound as livelier and more energetic. Winter wins on technicalities and headroom. Tonality and timbre are on par and exhibit high musicality.

vs Bqeyz Autumn (on normal magnetic filters)

• Detail retrieval goes to Winter.
• Imaging goes to Winter.
• Sound stage are on par. If I have to nitpick, Autumn still has a more spacious headroom.
• Trebles extension goes to Winter.
• Winter is easier to drive. Autumn needs more push on the volume level to shine.
• Dynamics are more expressive in Winter.
• Vocal presentations are both engaging and intimate with high musicality.
• Lows on autumn have more meat and density and weight. Winter has a more neutral lows presentation.
• Winter has the upper hand on speed by a very small margin.
• Mids on Autumn are well-centered while Winter has an added forward nature.

Conclusively, both are on par and have similar sound signatures. Again Winter is the brighter set (which surprised me). Both didn’t portray any sibilance given that both have excellent reach on top. If you have that extra 50 bucks, Winter is the one to go to being Autumn priced at 200$ and Winter at 250$. The Autumn is much loved by the audio community and it is just a matter of preference. Do your research and find the one that suits you. Both excel good balance in tonality and technicalities.

For the sake of curiosity, I will compare from here on out against my top 2 hybrid IEMs. I was supposed to compare with 3 units but Audiosense DT300 is the newest addition and I need more time to assess a more accurate comparison.

vs Kinera Idun Golden 2.0

• Idun is closer to neutrality.
• Lows of Idun is leaner. Winter has that slight elevation on the lows.
• Tonality and timbre goes to Winter. It’s a DD thing. lol
• Idun is more suited to monitoring than Winter. On the other hand, Winter wins the purpose of breaking down songs and instruments.
• Winter still wins on musicality and engagement.
• Both are technically capable. Idun has a slight upper hand. It's a hybrid thing. lol
• Vocals are more forward with Idun but sounded more organic and natural with Winter.
• Sound stage goes to Winter.
• Detail retrieval are on par.

Conclusively, comparing 2 different configurations have its pros and cons. DD favors being natural while Hybrids display their technical prowess. Idun still is my go-to for neutrality and accuracy. While Winter is very very close behind in terms of technicalities. To be honest, they are on par in technicalities. Winter has the upper hand in being balanced on tonality and technicalities. Simply put, Idun gives me what I need. Winter gives me what I want.

vs Seeaudio Bravery Red edition

• Bravery has a leaner sound signature. Closer to Idun.
• Trebles sounded thinner with Bravery.
• Lows are lusher and richer with Winter.
• Sound stage goes to Winter.
• Musical engagement goes to Winter.
• Bravery is the brighter set. Winter appeared warm when compared to Bravery. Bravery sounded thin compared to Winter.
• Winter wins in terms of imaging.
• Hi-hats and cymbals are sparkly and transparent with Bravery. Overly bright at times.
• Mids have a hint of recess with Bravery. Vocals sounded pushed back. Winter presents vocals in a more intimate way.
• Driver speed are on par.

Conclusively, Bravery is also close to neutrality. With a shy bit recessed mids. Less engaging and organic compared to Winter. Bravery sounded brighter and thinner. Which some people prefer. Winter being insanely capable in terms of technicalities, I would pick Winter over Bravery. This is quite a surprise since Bravery was once my top 1. Kind of hard to believe but it is what it is.

All comparisons and impressions above are highly biased to my personal preference. Let me stress once more, your mileage will most likely vary. Take it with a grain of salt.

SOURCES USED:​

• Questyle QP2R
• LG V30 quad dac with Centrance Dacport via Hiby Music app
• LG V30 quad dac with IFI Hip Dac v2 via Hiby Music app
• MacBook pro 2011 with Centrance Dacport via Foobar
• MacBook pro 2011 with IFI Hip Dac v2 via Foobar
• Tidal Masters and Qobuz Studio

TEST TRACKS:​

That’s the way of the World by EWF
Africa by TOTO
The Girl in the Other Room by Diana Kral
Balmorhea album All is wild, All is Silent
Sila by Sud
Smooth Escape by D’Sound
Never too Much by Luther Vandross
P.Y.T by Michael Jackson
Ain’t no Sunshine by Eva Cassidy
Shoot to Thrill by AC/DC
Another one bites the Dust by Queen
Good times bad times by Edie Brickell
Alice in Wonderland by Bill Evans
Ain’t it Fun by Paramore
Redefine by Incubus
Far Away by Nickelback
Lovesong by Adele
Lingus by Snarky Puppy
Harvest for the World by Vanessa Williams
Love Bites by Def Leppard
No Such Thing by John Mayer
As by Stevie Wonder
Whip Appeal by Babyface
Ain’t Nobody by Chaka Khan
Futures by Prep
Landslide by Fleetwood Mac
Every Summertime by NIKI
SADE tracks
AC/DC tracks
Queen tracks


And many more… I always listen to High-resolution format, being the least quality 16bit/44khz FLACS be it offline or online.

VERDICT:​

oh Bqeyz. This release must be one of the best and what an impressive IEM to end the year 2022!

Winter nailed it on all aspects in my book. Proper tonality and timbre, technical prowess, insane layering, separation and imaging, and minimalist design that oozes sophistication. It is the most constructive set I have solely for the purpose of breaking down songs which is part of my job as a pro musician. And that counts a lot.

Below are my Top 5 which I hold dear and can’t live without.

1. Kinera Idun Golden
2. Audiosense DT300
3. Seeaudio Bravery Red
4. Bqeyz Autumn
5. Sonic Memory SM2

And with Winter in my possession, here will be my new Top5.

1. Bqeyz WINTER
2. Kinera Idun Golden
3. Audiosense DT300
4. Seeaudio Bravery Red
5. Bqeyz Autumn

Now it seems monotonous to have two Bqeyz on the list but after a long deciding factor, I still prefer my trebles open and transparent, which the SM2 lacked.

Officially, Winter is my top 1 at the moment. I never expected a single DD will claim the top 1 slot. Well technically, Winter is somewhat of a hybrid because of its bone conduction tech. Nonetheless, Winter sounded almost perfect to my ears and I can’t find fault except for the average isolation and shallow fit. With the right amount of lows, punchy and quick, mids with good weight and body that feeds my mid-centric cravings, and energetic trebles free of sibilance and harshness. Packed with a TOTL level of technicalities and focused on layering, separation, and pinpoint imaging are all I need as a musician and a casual listener. It dethroned my most loved Kinera Idun Golden (not by a mile though) because it gives what I want in music enjoyment, and what I need as a musician breaking down songs. The only edge Idun has over Winter is its specific purpose for monitoring.

Winter is not a specialist in a specific element nor does it favor percussions, wind instruments, pianos, guitars, vocals, etc but rather it treats everything equally with precision and accuracy wrapped in natural tonality. It is a legitimate all-rounder and everything I throw at it is presented in both excellent quality and quantity.

And that’s a wrap! Thank you Ms. Elle for giving me the Winter at a discounted price and I’m looking forward to the next release. Hopefully not too soon. I would hate to see another IEM on my list being dethroned again. LOL

A friendly reminder, love the music more than the gear! Cheers, and catch you on the next one!

PRICE: $239​

𝐁𝐐𝐄𝐘𝐙 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰: 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐃𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞


|| 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 ||

BQEYZ is back again for another iteration of their series of IEMs themed and named around the 4 seasons the being the Spring (1&2), Summer, Autumn, and the newly released Winter which we have today.

The Winter is composed of a single 12 mm dynamic driver and a bone conduction driver. This driver configuration is the first I’ve seen since most bone-conducting drivers are used mostly by sports-oriented Bluetooth earbuds and are priced around the heavily competitive $200 price range.

Does having a well-known brand title and being a part of a popular series of IEMs along with a unique driver configuration make the BQEYZ Winter stand out against the rest of the pack in this crowded price range?


𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀:

I don’t consider myself as an audiophile or an enthusiast, therefore the terminology and the overall review will be more mainstream.
I like to keep my reviews simple without too much confusion and lingo

This review set is a part of a review tour and was sent free of charge in exchange for an honest review. There is no material or financial incentive for me to do this review. I guarantee no exchange has been done by both party to influence or sway my opinions on this product.

My thoughts and opinions are my own. My experience will entirely differ from everybody else. The contents of this review should not be considered factual as this hobby heavily leans on subjectivity. YMMV.


** 𝐇𝐮𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐁𝐐𝐄𝐘𝐙, 𝐌𝐬. 𝐄𝐥𝐥𝐞 𝐙𝐡𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐫. 𝐄𝐢𝐣𝐢 𝐙𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐫 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩. 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐭: 𝐞𝐮𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐬.𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐭.𝐜𝐨𝐦. **


| 𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 |

It comes with a simple compact box with branding all over it and a few Japanese-translated texts since this set is also available in Japan. It also comes with the typical product specifications on the back of the box with details of the manufacturer.
This no-fuss packaging is really nice without many irrelevant parts that are implemented poorly and just add to the overall manufacturing costs. Definitely quality over quantity


| 𝗨𝗻𝗯𝗼𝘅𝗶𝗻𝗴 |

Pulling the outer box reveals a shiny thicker flip box with BQEYZ Branding (good thing they didn’t use glitter for the shine). Opening the flip box reveals a cardboard cutout that showcases the IEM and the Winter name. Removing the cardboard window now fully displays the IEMs and the included case.

The IEMs are placed on foam with cutouts with the accessories box underneath. The color of the set I was provided was silver. The free case feels nice though I’m not sure if this is genuine or just faux leather. The case has the stock cable, a cleaning brush, a pair of foam tips with a plastic case, and a metal tip holder with specialized tips.
They provide wide-bore tips(S,M,L) named “Reference” on the holder and a set of tips titled “Atmosphere” which I’m not sure whether or not they’re standard tips or specialized tips(S,M,L). They also included extra tips(S,M,L) in the accessories box with some paperwork.

The case overall feels nice but the mesh compartment is somewhat loose the metal tip holder fits nicely and stays in place. It’s also nice to see free foam tips and a cleaning brush as freebies.
The stock cable is a 4-core 2-pin cable that can be bought in 2.5, 3.5, and 4.4mm terminations(This is not a modular cable). The set we have today is of 3.5mm termination. The stock cable feels nice and has a chin slider which I use from time to time. The color of the cable matches the silver variant of the Winter and looks good with it. It is not microphonic in my experience and doesn’t form kinks.

Despite being simple packaging, it still provides a pretty nice unboxing experience for the price. The simplicity of the unboxing is really neat for me as some other audio gearboxes are quite hard to unbox and some required tearing parts of it just to get it open.





| 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 |

The IEMs at first felt underwhelming for me because of how light it is but over time I kinda liked them more since the material itself is sturdy yet light. The lack of heft is really nice for using it for long hours but having a hefty set tends to be a more premium feeling that doesn’t mean this set feels cheap, far from that actually.

The Winter has 4(3 of each are grouped into a triangle) visible vents on each driver. They have engraved markings on each set indicating the left and right driver. The left driver has the Winter branding whilst the right has BQEYZ. The shell is composed of 2 parts. The main face plate has this curvature similar to some IEMs in BQEYZ’s season series with a glossy silver outline.

The 2-pin plugs somewhat protruded from the shell of the driver but not so much that it could be a fragile point of the build. There is also a pronounced wing that can be a deal breaker for people that do not have proper ear anatomy to comfortably use IEMs with a wing.



| 𝗜𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 |

This isolates almost similar to any IEM under the sun. I do want to highlight that the occlusion effect is not as prominent and annoying as most of the IEMs I’ve tried.


| 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁 |

This section of the course is very subjective, but I do find these comfortable regardless and only had to adjust it after prolonged use. I also want to highlight that this set has a protruding wing that some people can’t stand so your mileage may vary


** 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐤𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐙𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐔𝟏 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 (𝐕𝐄 𝐀𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐢 & 𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐃𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞) 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐓𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐣𝐢𝐦 𝐓𝐀𝐏𝐁 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰-𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐬 **


|| 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 ||

In general, I find this set to be somewhat U-shaped, with more forward sub-bass and treble, unlike the more typical V-shape in today’s IEM market. Treble seems to be the frequency that this set is more prominent on


| 𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 |

This set can be run pretty easily with dongles but I suggest using more power to really open up the sound, especially in the highs


| 𝗕𝗮𝘀𝘀 |

The lows of this set are more prominent in the sub-bass than the mid-bass. Rumble is very present and detailed but not smeary while the midbass is enough for my needs but might be lacking for those who want a hard-kicking, high-impact bass. The quantity of the sub-bass may be less than the BQEYZ Topaz I tried recently but the texture and detail are much more noticeable.


| 𝗠𝗶𝗱𝘀 |

Despite not being as forward as the other frequencies, the mids still preserve a nice bit of presence in the overall sound performance. It has a nice sense of air that can in my opinion satisfy most people who are particularly picky with their mids. Female vocals are more forward than male vocals.


| 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘀 |

The highs on this are definitely one of its highlights but for me honestly, this set is a tad bit sibilant. Do note that each and everyone have differentiating capabilities of handling sibilance and I particularly am sensitive to it. Otherwise, the highs on this thing are amazing.

There is air to let the sound breathe and transients are executed particularly.
This set would be perfect if weren’t for that sibilant aspect of it since I do use it on other things than music and heavily listen to sibilant voices for work so it is overbearing to hear sharp “T” and especially “S” sounds


| 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 |

The perceived stage on this set is pretty wide and open. There is a nice feeling of height as well. Imaging is spot-on and allows me to pinpoint sources pretty easily and clearly. Layering is great as well with no overlapping sound sources that just adds to the overall good technical performance of this set.


|| 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 ||

In conclusion, I really like this set and would suggest it to people albeit taking into account that this can be sibilant on select ears like mine and for those who can fork out around $200. If it weren't for that single downside then this would be a perfect set for me.

This set sounds very exciting and engaging but a unique execution from the oversaturated V-shape genre of IEMs for those wanting something engaging. Not to mention the intriguing driver configuration of it having a bone conduction driver and is manufactured by one of the established names in Chi-Fi.

"Let us love winter, for it is the spring of genius."

--Pietro Aretino, Italian Renaissance Playwright and Satirist.

It's Winter season and during this period there are some festivities that are usually celebrated and Yuletide season is one of them. We know that Christmas spending on shopping has somehow become an integral part of this holiday consumerism and many audio companies are trying to release their product in this season that even makes the audio market even more crowded as ever.


It is also noted that one of my favourite audio brands out there, BQEYZ as they will release the last model of their Season series which is quite ironic in this season. What I have here in my hand is the BQEYZ Winter and I will do an extensive review about this product.




BQEYZ Winter is an IEM earphone with a hybrid driver set-up with a new type of transducer which is quite rare in this particular price range, a Bone Conduction driver. Its shell chassis is made of a solid CNC-milled aluminium alloy that provides a very durable and classy look on its aesthetics preference with a blueish-green outline. Its shape and contour patterned after its predecessor models like the Springs, Summer and Autumn with slight modification as BQEYZ says that it takes an inspiration from skiing outlines and trajectory pattern Like all BQEYZ models, it uses a proven 0.78mm 2-pin connector for stability and ease of doing cable replacement.




As I mentioned about its hybrid driver set-up, it consists of a newly-developed 12mm dual cavity dynamic driver with a PAR (polyarylate) diaphragm and 11.6mm Piezoelectric Bone Conduction. Polyarylate is a type of plastic which is usually known to have a transparent, sturdy and with excellent mechanical properties and flexibility that it will deliver that seamless fluidity with a very low harmonic distortion. Another notable IEM that uses this type of driver is the 7Hz I88. The Piezoelectric Bone Conduction driver is a self-developed driver by BQEYZ which is quite different to other Bone conduction drivers that I'm quite familiar with from Unique Melody, Empire Ears and Shokz.


Bone conduction was supposedly an old concept that dated back to the 18th century where Beethoven put a rod to his mouth and its opposite ends rested on the rim of the piano to tune its note via vibration. In a broader sense, bone conduction is a principle where sound waves travel towards the skull via subtle vibrations which is more conducive to people who have some auricular issue like hearing loss. But in this case, BQEYZ's Bone Conduction driver technology is quite unusual as it supports the dynamic driver to deliver the sound waves through means of air conduction. The BQEYZ's Bone Conduction handles the midrange to treble part of the overall frequency range spectrum and further improves the technical performance of the Winter.




When it comes to wearability, BQEYZ Winter seems to have a good fitting and rests well in my lug holes without any issues. This is BQEYZ's best IEM when it comes to fitting as I have some niggles in most of their products when it comes to suitable comfort for my lug holes . BQEYZ Winter provided a good noise isolation from the outside that blocked a substantial amount of external noises. Another reminder if you want to experience that distinctive BC reverb sensation is to find the proper ear tips to feel it. BQEYZ reference ear tips seems fine but there are other third party ear tips that provides even better like Symbio W Mandarin and JVC Spiral Dots.



As for product packaging and provided accessories, The packaging box is similar to previous BQEYZ season products and you will expect a considerable amount of quality inclusions coming out from a BQEYZ flagship model.

Here are the included contents inside of BQEYZ Winter:

◆ a pair of BQEYZ Winter IEMs
◆ a four-core 0.78mm 2-pin Single crystal copper-plated silver cable with straight 3.5mm termination plug.
◆ an ear tips organiser plate.
◆ 3 pairs of "Atmosphere" ear tips of different standard sizes.
◆ 3 pairs of "Reference" ear tips of different standard sizes.
◆ 3 pairs of new narrow-bored matte finish ear tips of different standard sizes.
◆ a pair of memory foam ear tips.
◆ Cleaning tool
◆ a hard bound zippered IEM case.
◆ a velcro cable organiser
◆ some paperwork like quality control card and instruction manual.



As for driveability and amplification, BQEYZ Winter seems to be an easy to drive set as it can be amplified enough through a decent power output from a mobile device. But plugging them to a better source with good quality DAC/amps will sound even more dynamic and better volume output.



To determine its tonal profile, BQEYZ Winter has a balanced-neutral sound signature as it has a quite linear sound with some emphasis on midrange and treble region that the overall sound quality more organic and at the same time melodious.

Here are some observations of its sound characteristic in the overall sound quality of BQEYZ Winter.


LOWS/BASS:

The bass quality of BQEYZ Winter is punchy, accurate, definite and has a good depth on it. This is one of the cleanest that I've heard in under $300 price range on how the sub bass and mid bass are well-separated that I can clearly define it.

Sub-bass has an ample presence that I feel its reverberations and rumbling from sub bass-focus tracks from certain genres like Synth-pop and Hip-Hop. Drum machines, synthesisers and the lowest note of bass guitars are really precise on how I perceive them.

Mid bass seems to have an ample texture into it as it gives a decent amount of body especially on bass guitars, bass kicks and bass-baritones. Bass guitar has this resonant and sombre sound to add more grit and growl, Bass kick has this thudding and sufficient pounding on every kick and last but not the least, bass baritone vocal does have a rich and deeper sound whenever vocalist/singers in this particular vocal range that I've thrown with it.



MIDRANGE:

The midrange of this set is probably the strongest asset. I really like how it handles the vocals of both gender and instruments as if you are an avid reader of my review articles, I am very attentive and meticulous to the midrange quality as I'm a midcentric-neutral listener. The midrange has this pristine, neutral and ample energy to give a good detail and clean delivery.

Due to an enough warmth that BQEYZ Winter has, it gives a sense of texture and note weight on male vocals that tenors and countertenors (either Pavarotti, Freddie Mercury, Prince, Robert Plant) have this strong, brassy and dazzling quality. Female vocals aren't behind either as due to Bone Conduction driver, it gives even more frontal, spacious and energetic even sopranos singers like Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston and Tarja Turunen sounds very captivating, passionate and emotive. Other female vocals I can describe from other types of vocal ranges are euphonic, luscious and sweet. This is the ideal midrange that I really want along with Dunu SA6 which in my opinion has one of the midrange quality in the midrange segment.

Instruments sound very natural and cohesive that it is quite very versatile to all classes of instruments from percussion to brass ones. I'll start with the string ones. Guitars (acoustics) have this crisp and good presence to give articulation and expression, violins have this vibrant, brilliant and lustrous sound on every bow string movement. Brass like horns and trumpets have this intense, metallic and full sound while trombone (check out a track, A Message To You, Rudy by The Specials) has this brassy and overpowering sound that gives it more intensity. Woodwinds like flute and fife have this bright and penetrating sound, saxophone is quite versatile on this one as it can either be rich to reedy sound depending on sax player preference on their sax tone and timbre. As for percussives, like snares and marimba (the iPhone ringtone) bright, hard and penetrating sound. Piano has this vibrant and lively tone that is quite pleasing to my ears but there some particular listeners specifically treble sensitives might perceive as a bit intense and overpowering on their own liking.


HIGHS/TREBLE:

The treble of BQEYZ Winter seems to be elevated especially on upper mids that give a sufficient shimmer, crisp and detail with smoothness and airiness in presence to the brilliance treble region. With a tad boost on upper mids, it gives a vocals more expressive and well extended across the frequency range and other instruments like glockenspiel and xylophone a silvery and glistening sound. There are no strident nor harshness but take note of possible borderline sibilance on a few vocal tracks but in most cases it is still well-controlled.

Cymbals have this shimmering and sizzling sound and Hi-hats have that distinctive shortened dry and metallic sound. Due to the Bone conduction driver it gives even more airy and definition that gives off some vibe of high fidelity sound and better harmonic range.



SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING & OTHER TECHNICALITIES:

Like all BQEYZ products that I have tested before, BQEYZ Winter has retained its typical aspect in which BQEYZ products are known for. A very wide soundstage, good height reach and impressive distance in depth which has a good presentation from the front to back that gives a more spacious and immersive feel on the head stage. It has a very well-proportioned sound field in my opinion.

Imaging is quite accurate as I can able to pinpoint the placement of instruments and vocals with good spacing and gaps on one another. Another aspect that BQEYZ managed to rectify from their previous offerings was its layering aspect as both dynamic and frequency layering has its distinctive placement and arrangement in the overall sonic canvas. Even with very complex multi-instrumental tracks like movie musical scores like the composition on Danny Elfman and Hans Zimmer and some orchestral classical tracks, BQEYZ Winter can handle effortlessly without any sense of veil or congestion.

With the homogenous sound between dynamic driver and bone conduction driver, the cohesiveness of sound is very outstanding given on how it handles the attack, decay and sustain on the drivers performance on amplitude level.

In resolution capability, it performs a superb mark on both macro-dynamics to have more solid note and micro-detail retrieval which can capture a lot of information from the tracks in which I have some qualms on how it will show some flaws like artefacts and clippings on a poorly-mixed tracks.

As for tonal colour, it has that natural timbre with a tad of shimmer on it that makes the BQEYZ Winter to have a very neutral and yet dynamic tonality.


PEER COMPARISONS:

EMPIRE EARS LEGEND EVO (US$ 3099, £ 2562)

■ As a TOTL IEM with Bone Conduction, Legend Evo has added more drivers like Balanced Armatures. Its bone conduction tech is rather a more full range but gives a more emphasis on bass quality to sound more tactile and authoritative.

■ As for tonality, Legend Evo is more of an L-shaped "neutral" sounding with more warmth and textured compared to more linear, neutral sounding BQEYZ Winter. But the treble region is a bit veiled and less airy compare to Winter's impressive treble quality with more fundamentals and airy.

■ As for technicalities, they are almost similar but imaging and layering is somehow a bit better on Legend Evo (that's what you paid for a better technical capable set) but surprisingly it has lesser soundstage width compared to Winter.




Unique Melody Mason Fusang (US$4588, £3792)

■ Another TOTL IEM with the Bone Conduction on its internal. It has a total of 13 drivers with 12 balanced armature drivers and a bone conduction driver and it is encapsulated in a high quality egger resin shell.

■ When I'm doing some short A-B testing between the Fusang and Winter, I'm quite astounded by their similarities when it comes to tuning. They are both balanced-neutral signatures that have some added warmth and also some kind of that distinct BC reverberations on instruments and vocals which quite sounds life-like but Fusang has an edge on better details and clarity.

■ Even for technical aspects, they still have some similar performance, I still give Fusang a better mark on imaging, layering and separation but in soundstage width and height, BQEYZ Winter surprisingly fares better as there are some instances that Fusang's staging seems to be lacking and a bit intimate and congested in my liking.




Unique Melody Mest MK.II (US$1499, £1239)

■ Mest MK.II is hybrid driver set-up IEM consists of 1 dynamic driver, 4 balanced armature drivers, 2 Sonion electrostatic drivers and 1 BC PZT drivers on each side which has a very interesting implementation.


■ As for tonality, it has a mild U-shaped tuning with a more warmer and smoother sound. Bass seems to be more focus on sub bass rather than midbass, a texture and has tad recession on the midrange and a rather bright treble but despite those ESTs, it has less airy treble compare to Winter.

■ Technical performance of Mest MK.II is rather average in its price range to be honest given my exposure to Midrangers to TOTL IEMs. It has a good imaging aspect though but the rest seems lacking, Soundstage width is a bit small in my liking that affects the separation and layering to sound a bit congested.




As I laid my verdict on BQEYZ Winter, how it fares in the current state of the audio market which is getting even more competitive and what will be its status given its newer driver implementation as its selling point. If you are an audio enthusiast who wants an almost Top of the line-level tonal and technical performance but at an affordable price, without batting an eyelid, I will certainly recommend the BQEYZ Winter.


BQEYZ Winter will deliver the very best hybrid driver IEM for its matured tuning and superb technicalities without cutting corners at a very appealing price offering. The last of the BQEYZ's Season series deserves a proper and honourable closure as among the best IEMs within its price range.






BQEYZ WINTER is now available in both Aliexpress and Lazada in BQEYZ Official Store and it is procurable in 2 colour variants, black and silver white. You can check out the links below.


● LAZADA

● ALIEXPRESS



SPECIFICATION:

MODEL: BQEYZ WINTER
IMPEDANCE: 38Ω
SENSITIVITY: 113dB
FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 5Hz – 40KHz
CABLE LENGTH: 1.2M
PIN TYPE: 2-PIN CONNECTOR (0.78MM)
PLUG TYPE: 3.5mm, 4.4mm
DRIVER UNIT(S): (1) DYNAMIC DRIVER + (1) BONE CONDUCTION DRIVER



Some Tracks Tested: ( * = 16-bit FLAC, ** = 24-bit FLAC, *'* = MQA, '*' = DSD, *'= .WAV)

Alison Krauss -When You Say Nothing At All *
Jade Wiedlin - Blue Kiss**
Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks **
Mountain - Mississippi Queen *
Queen - Killer Queen **
Guns N' Roses - Patience *'*
Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven '*'
Sergio Mendes- Never Gonna Let You Go '*'
Pearl Jam - Daughter **
Roselia - Hidamari Rhodonite *
Assassin - Fight (To Stop The Tyranny)*
Celtic Frost- Visual Aggression *
New Order - Blue Monday *
The Corrs- What Can I do (unplugged version) *
Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Child *
The Madness- Buggy Trousers *
Metallica - Motorbreath **
Mariah Carey- Always Be My Baby *
Destiny's Child - Say My Name *
Malice Mizer- Au Revoir *
Mozart - Lacrimosa *
New York Philharmonic Orchestra - Dvorak- Symphony 9 " From the New World." *
Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold (Sting cover)*
Michael Jackson - Give In To Me *
Exciter - Violence and Force *
Diana Krall - Stop This World **
Debbie Gibson - Foolish Beat *'*
The Sisters of Mercy – Lucretia My Reflection**
Suzanne Vega – Luka **
Lauren Christy – Steep *


P.S.

I am not affiliated to BQEYZ nor receive monetary incentives and financial gains as they provide me a review unit for an exchange of factual and sincere feedback from yours truly.

Once again, I would like to thank MS. ELLE ZHOU for providing this review unit. I truly appreciate her generosity towards me and other reviewers.

December 27, 2022

BQEYZ WINTER - A WINTER TO LAST FOREVER​

BQEYZ released another flagship IEM, completing the four-season series that is the main selling point of the BQEYZ line of in-ear monitors.The BQEYZ Winter has arrived. BQEYZ Audio's first bone-conduction hybrid IEM The IEM is made up of a 12mm dynamic driver and a BC driver. Of course, I did my research on how bone conduction works since I only know the surface of it as the conduction of sound to the inner ear primarily through the bones of the skull, allowing the hearer to perceive audio content without blocking the ear canal.




DISCLAIMER:

• I am not affiliated with BQEYZ and received no monetary compensation during or after this review. This unit is a tour unit managed by Levi Loo of Brionced Reviews in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
• I am not a professional reviewer and would only coin simple terms for most beginners, and experts in the hobby to understand.
• Words taken from this review should be taken with a grain of salt. However, I can assure you that my findings won't differ a few miles from yours and will discuss what I have heard using my audio gears.

Here are a few articles to support bone conduction:

• https://www.soundguys.com/bone-conduction-headphones-20580/
• https://uk.shokz.com/blogs/news/how-does-bone-conduction-headphones-work
• https://www.macrumors.com/2020/07/28/apple-patents-bone-conduction-system/

So BQEYZ created a hybrid IEM that supports both air conduction and bone conduction to create an IEM that isolates medium and high frequencies to provide a larger soundstage and more detailed separation. The bass and midrange are handled by air conduction. I now understand how the BC driver works in this context; it does not serve the same purpose as the articles above explained, but BQEYZ wants to create a hybrid with BC to create an isolated "space" for the higher frequencies for better soundstage and imaging. It's quite amazing if you think of it that way. The more premium and expensive Unique Melody MEST MKII and the Unique Melody MEXT are two prominent in-ear monitors that use the same technology.




Anyway, enough with the introduction; let us now embark on our journey through the Winter.

PACKAGING​

The packaging for the Winter is quite simple; the box has a minimalistic design, and BQEYZ has remained minimalistic on their packaging throughout the years, avoiding the usual anime-ish packaging gimmicks that most Chi-Fi companies bring to the market. I really adored BQEYZ for that. As I always say, the ultimate sophistication is simplicity. We have six pairs of silicone eartips, one pair of memory foam tips, a cable, a carrying case, and a brush. Personally, I still hate the included eartips because they are really uncomfortable to wear for me. If you want to, I recommend that you use third-party eartips.

BUILD QUALITY​

As for the driver, it is encased in a full-aluminum shell similar to that of its predecessor, the BQEYZ Autumn. The cables look sophisticated, sleek, and sturdy. They really made the cables better this time since they released Autumn and Topaz because the ones included in my BQEYZ Summer before were a disaster.

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SOUND​

LOWS:​

The overall bass has a sub-bass focus with rumbles that can be obviously felt. The midbass still packs a punch and has quite an impact while not exhibiting bleeding in the midrange; this makes the Winter's bass the best bass response I've heard from an IEM within this budget. The attack and decay are fast, as evident in this track, Das Spiegel by The Chemical Brothers, which gives me a satisfying amount of aggressiveness in the lower region. Overall, it doesn't go deep and strong like some bassier sets.

MIDS:​

The midrange is neutral, depending on the track, it can still sound somehow engaging. It remains levelled on the lower midrange and slightly elevates upon transitioning the upper midrange and treble area. Upon listening, the midrange is more instrument-focused than vocal focused; I don't know if that makes sense. There are times that the vocals are not as powerful as they need to be; Freddie Mercury's vocals do not sound as powerful as they should. The same can be said of Kate Bush's vocals, as they do not sound as intimate as I expected them to. But singers like Anne Sofie von Otter when paired with a bit of Jazz on Baby Plays Around, gives an emotional and a somewhat "alive" (breathing queues, and such) vocals.

TREBLE:​

The treble was where I was amazed and dazzled. The treble retrieves great micro-details and has good tonality. Handclaps, woodblock hits, and marimba strikes from Laurie Anderson's "Born, Never Asked" pick up the correct speed in their own intended positions on the stage. The level of detail is excellent; wind instruments like flugelhorns and percussion instruments like castanets complement each other well. The treble sounds smooth and energetic, yet does not exhibit harshness or fatigue. BQEYZ really did their treble a favor on this one.

IMAGING AND SOUNDSTAGE:
The imaging is done well in the Winter; the separation between vocals and instruments is good. I can identify every sound that specific tracks, such as Radiohead's "National Anthem," throw at me, from acoustic to electronic elements, bass guitars, and a prominent horn section. Despite the chaos, Winter was able to separate everything, which sounds fine. The same can be said of Yosi Horikawa's "Letter," where it starts out with an aggressive yet satisfying pencil scribble and paper flips, followed by a contrasting soft synth element—all of this in one track, and Winter is able to distinguish these elements with a somehow satisfying effort.
For the soundstage, it is wide enough to place a gap between the vocals and instruments, separating them from one another and enabling me to place them on a somewhat large stage. Of course, it isn't as wide as an auditorium, but Winter makes the most of it in order to deliver.



TESTED DEVICES

• LG G8 (Spotify, locally stored files (FLAC, M4A 320kbps, and WAV files)
• Sony D-EJ011 CD Walkman
• Hidizs AP80 Pro
• Cyberdrive Feather DAC (connected to PC and tested with Spotify, Tidal, and Qobuz)
• SA9023A + ES9018K2M USB DAC (connected to PC, tested with Spotify, Tidal, and Qobuz)

TESTED TRACKS

• All Time Low - Jon Bellion
• Baby Plays Around - Anne Sofie von Otter
• Barcelona (2012 Orchestrated Version) - Freddie Mercury
• Bishop School - Yusef Lateef
• Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
• Clair de Lune - Kamasi Washington
• Concierto de Aranjuez: Adagio - Miles Davis
• Das Spiegel - The Chemical Brothers
• Fantasy - The xx
• Feels Like We Only Go Backwards - Tame Impala
• Fishies - The Cat Empire
• For Whom the Bell Tolls - Metallica
• Free Fall - ITZY
• Harvest Moon - Neil Young
• Heaven or Las Vegas - The Cocteau Twins
• Heroes - David Bowie
• Heroes - The Midnight
• House of Cards - Radiohead
• Hysteria - Muse
• I Put A Spell On You - Nina Simone
• Letters - Yosi Horikawa
• Los Angeles - The Midnight
• Myth - Beach House
• Pepas - Farruko
• Pretty Vacant - Sex Pistols
• Raven - GoGo Penguin
• Rhapsody in Blue - George Gershwin
• Running Up That Hill - Kate Bush
• The Chain - Fleetwood Mac
• The National Anthem - Radiohead
• Time - Pink Floyd
• Uh Uh - Thundercat
• Wasted Times - The Weeknd
• You Must Be out of Your Mind - The Magnetic Fields

TESTED ALBUMS (On Sony CD Walkman)

• Radiohead - Kid A
• Queen - The Greatest Hits I,II,& III : The Platinum Collection
• TWICE - Formula of Love

Pros:

• versatile sounding IEM, can be thrown into any genre and sound good.
• lightweight and durable
• neutral midrange
• good soundstage and separation
• good bass impact with sub-bass emphasis
• energetic treble with good extension

Cons:

• fit might not be for everybody
• some vocals can be underwhelming

CONCLUSION:​

To summarize, it appears that Winter differed from what I first heard from this pair. After listening to this pair of earphones for a few days, I can conclude that this is an excellent all-around pair of earphones. In terms of sound, the bass has good power and impact. The midrange is neutral with a bit of focus on the instruments. The treble is excellent, with clear details, a good attack, and speed. You can definitely throw any kind of genre onto Winter, and it would still sound decent and preferable for your taste, whether you listen to k-pop, rock, metal, rap, EDM, jazz, or classical music. BQEYZ Winter can play your favorite playlist on any given day. It can definitely drive your smartphone, but I would recommend that you at least use a DAC for a better experience. It might differ from usual smartphones since I use an LG G8, but it can still drive the G8 with Quad-DAC turned off. DAPs like the AP80 Pro can also drive these IEMs; in fact, even my Sony CD Walkman plays decently but not as well as a DAC/AMP. Would I recommend the Winter? Definitely yes!

Here is my #NoShillJustChill review/impression of the BQEYZ Audio Winter.

Disclaimers:
• I don't consider myself as an audiophile nor a professional reviewer, I just do this for leisure. In line with that, my terms are intentionally simplified to make it comprehensive to casual music enjoyers as well.
• My impressions will be short, but i will try my best to describe how an iem sounds with simpler terms so even regular consumers/casual listeners can keep up.
• This is a review/tour unit, no rewards of any kind was or will be involved. Rest assured, I will provide my insights based from what i hear.
• Your preference and mileage may and/or will always vary from mine, so take my findings with a grain of salt, but not too much that you'll be salty. It all boils down to your preference anyway. So, trust your ears.
• As this hobby is subjective whether we admit it or not, this is my personal take and review, based on my actual auditioning. Therefore, testing/auditioning a product should always be your deciding factor.

A massive shoutout to BQEYZ, Ms. Elle Zhou and Eiji Zerstorer Romero, a fellow mentor and one of the few people whom I consider mentors in this hobby for making this tour possible, check his reviews on his blog at: euphoniareviews.blogspot.com.

Box/Package Inclusions:
• IEM, a 4 core with 2-pin cable that comes either on 2.5, 3.5, and 4.4 termination.
• 9 pairs of silicone eartips (3 atmosphere/bass, 3reference/widebore and 3 extra tips) 1 pair of foam tips.
• A simple minimalist leather material IEM case and a cleaning tool.

Source/setup:
• Sony NW-A55 (MrWalkman's Walkman One FW mod: WM1Z stock tuning on normal mode and direct source on)
• All Stock, cable and tips *Reference tips (M)*
• Volume level normal listening level on IEMs ranging at around 55-60/120 (46-50%)

Tracks used for testing this unit per my preference (all other tracks unlisted were all at random/shuffle):
• Leave the door open - Silk Sonic
• Wonderful tonight - Babyface
• Broken heart of gold (acoustic) - One OK Rock
• Gravity - Jason Chen
• Provide - G-eazy ft. Chris Brown
• Talk Shows on Mute - Incubus
• (There's Gotta Be) More To Life - Stacie Orrico
• Winter is Coming - Han Suji
• Pompeii - E.S. Posthumus
• Another One Bites the Dust - Queen

Impressions/comments:
• Package inclusions - Simple yet very generous, 10 pairs of tips to fit your preference, a sleek and sturdy carrying case plus, there's a cleaning tool included.
• Material/Appearance/Aesthetics - The shell design is what I perceive to be a fusion of the design of the previous seasons namely, Spring 1&2 and Autumn. It appears to have Autumn's form with Spring 1&2's lining on the edges. On the other hand, the cable looks simple yet classy but not too flashy.
• Lows/bass - The bass amount is definitely not for bassheads but still packs an accurate, well controlled, well textured punch/thump and rumble sufficient enough but not overshadowing nor drowning nor bleeding into other frequencies.
• Mids/vocals - Both the male and female vocals sound exteremely pleasant to my ears, very smooth, detailed, clear and not recessed and in no way lean or shouty or harsh. The vocal layerings are also very commendable as compared to my other IEMs.
• Highs/treble - The cymbals and other instruments in the background sounded really natural, well-defined and clear. They are more audible on this pair, making my listening experience, very, very indulging.
• Other technicalities (tonality, staging, etc.) - Overall tonality/sound signature/profile is somewhere between being neutral and balanced. Can't really say, for sure 'cause I've never tried a "true neutral" set. But that is how, on my own words would describe how I preceive its versatility. Soundstage is pretty wide, one of the widest in all of the IEMs I've auditioned, and might be one of the recognizable trademarks of BQEYZ IEMs as per my observation.

Pros:
• Lightweight yet durable, well-designed CNC aluminum shell, looks like it won't chip over time.
• Great fit for my ears, not causing fatigue even on longer listening sessions.
• Very detailed and versatile sounding, a perfect all-rounder that fits very well to my preference.
• Generous package inclusions.
• A different experience of reverberating sensation from the Bone Conduction driver which has some kind of relaxingnor soothing effect on me (or, I might just be being brainwashed, just kidding. ).

Cons (not really cons, but nitpicks):
• As much as I personally enjoyed my first time experiencing the Bone Conduction, this might also be, uneasy for some people, which could be that deal breaker.

Conclusions:
• My initial reaction with this pair was literally the acronym, W.I.N.T.E.R.
(What the, I've Never Thought that Endgame is Really possible)
*Well, of course, this is my personal take, still, YMMV.*
• Overall, this IEM is no doubt, another WIN, TERrific job by the whole BQEYZ team for living up to the meaning behind their brand, Best Quality Earphones for You. Its innate versatility and tuning is so good that it can be used for both everyday musical enjoyment and monitoring purposes for musicians out there.
• The Bone conduction might not be for everyone's pleasure. Nonetheless, this is still a very nice set.