EPZ Q1 Pro

Design, Fit, and Accessories

The first thing that struck me after I got Q1 Pro was its design, specially its faceplate. It looks absolutely gorgeous. The pearlescent blue faceplate glistens in the sun. The quality of the resin used is also very good for the price. Shells feel well-built and sturdy, shells are on the smaller side and their shape is also excellent. So, fit and comfort is non issue for me. The isolation provided is also very good. I did not receive the whole box so I can only comment on the cable quality. The cable quality is good, a slight upgrade from 20-dollar sets. The cable has metal connectors, It feels sturdy enough.

Frequency Response

To do my sound analysis, I settled on Final Type-E tips. The Epz Q1 Pro has a Harman-inspired tuning, which I can describe as a brighter Harman.

Bass

The bass is decent. It’s there to complete the sound, nothing more, nothing less. While the attack is a bit blunted and the decay very fast, making it feel slightly unnatural, the bass remains clear and non-boomy. The sub-bass could benefit from more texture and rumble, and the mid-bass might need more thump and slam for those who prefer a richer bass experience. Tracks like "Limit to Your Love" by James Blake and "Low Life" by The Weeknd highlight these characteristics.

Mids

The mids are decent. The lower mids are on the dry side, so both male and female vocals lack the heft and body to sound natural. In addition to the dry lower midrange, the upper midrange is at the Harman target level, which can sound shouty on vocal-forward tracks. This combination results in dry and shouty-sounding vocals. The timbre of the instruments also sounds somewhat unnatural. Tracks like "Hotel California - Hell Freezes Over" by Eagles and "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele confirm my findings. However, the mids maintain clarity and separation, which is a positive aspect.

Treble
The treble is also decent, it is smooth enough for the price. But, I find it to be too aggressive, there is too much energy from 4-6khz for my personal preference. This makes the instrument metallic sounding. The SSs in the voice are pronounced. Mid-treble is at the perfect spot, there is a small peak at 10k, and after that the treble falls off gently. The treble extension is good for the price.

Detail retrieval and Technical Performance

Due to its lean and aggressive signature, the detail retrieval is good. There is decent micro detail pickup. Technical performance is also good, the laying and instrument separation is also decent. The stage is also good for the price, but don’t expect too much, it's still a 30-dollar set.

Conclusion

While Epz Q1 Pro impresses with its build quality and design, falling short in sound quality is a significant drawback. The faceplate is beautiful, and the fit is excellent, but the bass, mids, and treble could use improvement. It competes decently at its price point but is outperformed by some lower priced sets. I hope Epz takes the criticism mentioned above and works on the shortcomings to make the next release better and more competitive.

UNBOXING & ACCESSORIES :

1st unboxing is very simple enough for 32 usd, with 3 pairs silicone eartips size S,M,L.
And small pouch made from cloth.

Beautiful and solid house resin 3D Printed, with female connector 2-pin 0.78.
Fitting is good, not big shell housing, light weight. Steady enough in my ears.
Comfort. Isolation is average.

Single DD driver, with techology :
10 mm PU + LCP liquid crystal molecular dome diaphragm DD.
Not hard to drive when im using only with my smartphone, with impedance 32 ohm, sensitivity 100 dB.

The stock cable, is decent for it price, 4 core Single Crsytal Cooper, with Plug 3,5 Single Ended (SE).

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SOUND QUALITY :

Im already using this iem for several weeks, has passed 100 hours.
My source and players : laptop lenovo ideapad flex 5, dac/amp dongle Fiio KA17, youtube premium.
Im just using stock cable with jack 3,5 SE, and stock eartips size M.
My personal Sound Signature preference : W shaped tonal, treble lover.

Timbre :

NATURAL. instrument, and voacals. Free from metallic & plasticky timbre, sibillance, harsh.

Signature and Tonal :

Harman'ish, quiet balance. Pleasant tuning & mature sound.


Lows :

Sub bass quite deep, however not the deepest, with lil bit thumpy bass (NOT at BASSHEAD LEVEL), quite round, nice rumbly with good control , and not long of a tail types, .
Not powerfull, not boomy too, quite balance.

Mid bass quite balance and good control, tight.
Kick drum is punchy enough, with less impact for the punch, not heavy impact , the body isn't thick . Make it less fun for my taste. But after several weeks listening, more better punchy mid bass. Make this iem more in level well balance at it price.

Speed bass quite fast when I test for double pedals, never too left behinds, quite good well control.
The percussion is quite punchy.

The bass texture & body is a bit lacking at 1st time, but after several weeks more better and better,
For bass quantity is not for basshead set, if I can give score from 1-5, the bass quantitiy in level 2,5-3,5, Hzsound Heart mirror in level 2, basshead in level 4,5-5.


Mids :

Vocal is natural, quite clean, with add hint warm, good articulation.
Male vocals in lower mid not lush, but not thin too, and the articulation good, clean.
Upper mid have some energy.
(However when volume too louder, sometime upper mid can slight too intense, almost at borderline shouty, but after 100 hours its better and better.)
Female vocals in upper mid sweet , lively, slight wet, forward , the articulation is quite detail, sometime I can feel airiness,

The clarity of string accoustic guitar and piano is quite good.
Guitar electric some time can be spicy esp when the volume is too louder.


Highs / Treble :

Slight energetic but with sense of smoothing treble respons, and roll off make it less sparkle, so make it no piercing too.

Can be relaxed too, with just enough treble extend but not till upper treble.
Quite lively and engaging, without being too bright & no offensive treble,
Quite comfortable and no fatiguing for longer listening session.
Percussion instrumens have it bite, crisp, but still smooth.


Technicalities :

Micro details is great for it is price 30 usd, macro details is good enough,
Clarity & resolution is good,
Imaging, separation and layering are just average, quite good at it price,
The transients are quite fast and responsive,
Soundstage :
Soundstage width is slight above average..
Depth and tall are just average, for it price.
Not flat, nor 2D too, but slight ouval wide horizontal

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WHO IS THIS IEM FOR ?

*Newbie who 1st time start in this hobby, is 1 of the best low budget iem under 40 usd.

*For person who likes harman'ish , but treble sensitive, this good choice, no piercing, slight musical than general harman, not analytical, with quiet good technical chops for the price.
this entry budget with great perform iem at 33 usd.

*For people who have 100 usd iem above, and want second budget iem for using daily,and cheap, this is recommended budget iem with good Sound Quality. In office, and indoor this sound is good for itprice,
but forme not for daily outdoor activity, like in train or public transportation cozthe isolation in my ears jut average (very subjective, change the eartips, willbe very the best solution), and if the volume set louder can make sound tooforward, not relaxed anymore like usual or should.

*For people only have cheap source, or direct to laptop and smartphone, this verygood option. But with better source dac amp, will be scaling up the SQ.

CONCLUSION :

For my personal preference, if sub bass quantity can more, midbass more punchier, more thick, and treble more sparkly, it will be more fun sounding for me. But, like we know, this is harman target. But for low budget harmans target, this is the best iem,

Im using this iem several weeks, for personally me, at 1st day tbh for me this iem can be lil boring, but when using after several weeks till now, I can see this iem is recommended for using as a daily driver at entry budget 30usd,

This safety choice for 30usd, for using as a daily driver, with pleasant tuning, natural timbre, inoffensive treble, relaxed and calm, nice vocals, smooth treble with quite good extension, a bit musically, but with decent technicallities esp micro details at this price.

GENRE MUSIC :

Recommend for Pop, indie folk, rock, metal, accoustic, jazz, blues, small live concert cafe.

Not really for : hip hop, edm, electro heavy bass

SCORE SOUND QUALITY :

Objective score : 7,5 - 8,5/10 for harmanish lover with single DD, and at it price 33 usd.
Subjective me score: 7 - 7,5/10 For me, who likes sound signature of treble lover & likes W shaped.

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Disclaimer:

• I don’t read FR graphs. I only use my ears, as earphones should be used.
• EPZ sent this unit to me in an exchange for an honest, transparent review. Rest assured that this review will do its best to devoid from any bias/es as much as possible.
• The following remarks and observations shall be made and owned only by me.
• No monetary compensation is/was involved before, during, and after the period of creation of this review.
• Your mileage may (and always, will) vary.

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Burn-in time: 4-8 hours per day, 5 days.

Source/s used:

• - Non-HiFi smartphone (Infinix Note 12 G96), PC.
• - Tanchjim Space DAC
• - Hidizs S9 Pro DAC
• - Aiwa XP-V710C CD Player (12 sec. EASS)
• - Sony Xperia X Compact
• - Local Files via Foobar, YouTube Music, Deezer, and Qobuz with UAPP.

IEM/Earbud/Setup configuration: Stock medium eartips, any form of EQ or MSEB off, 40-60% volume.

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Sound signature:

• The EPZ Q1 Pro no doubt follows the Harmant Target, hence it is a u-shaped sounding set. On certain tracks and sources, some ears can perceive this set as a w-shaped sounding IEM due to its mids sounding very clean and open, giving the impression of its mids being a bit more elevated on those aforementioned scenarios.

Lows:

• The lows in this performance are raised, but not to basshead levels, as some ears would have expected and preferred. Despite the aforementioned qualities, it is present and packed across the majority of genres. It is also moderately subbass dominant, which may leave the midbass lacking in punch and thickness. The lows are crisp, tight, and decay quite quickly. Overall, I find that the EPZ Q1 Pro's bass is nicely done and quite flexible, regardless of the song being played.

Mids:

• As for the mids, it is mildly recessed, open, and quite vivid for an under 60 USD set. Lower mids are virtually clean and does not experience any midbass bleed to my ears. This in return can also cause a bit of “thinness” in this region to most ears. Still, it exhibits a good amount of thickness and texture, particularly on male vocals. Upper mids are elevated, airy, sparkly and has a very good amount of clarity. While this is nowhere near sibilant to my ears, I can still say that this region may sound shouty to some ears and tracks on higher volumes. However, a higher than usual amount of volume isn’t necessarily needed in this set as this set is very easy to drive and is not source sensitive, in a positive way. Overall, its mids profile are quite familiar if you are fond of Harman-sounding sets, as this IEM’s mids lean to that neutral-thin side of thickness.

Highs:

• Now for the treble, it is adequately extended, and has a good amount of clarity and air. To my ears, it isn’t as elevated or as bright when compared to the upper mids as it does not exhibit any form of sibilance or harshness, even when the most sibilant-prone cymbals on a track hits. Detail retrieval is average and is evident on my test tracks. It renders most details really well, but not clinical enough for me to call it an IEM suited for critical listening.

Soundstage, Imaging, and separation:

• In my opinion, the technical performance of the EPZ Q1 Pro falls under my “one-of-the-better-ones-under-60 USD” category, as it handles very busy tracks quite well with minimal congestion or hiccups. Soundstage is your usual wide with a decent amount of height and depth. Imaging is precise for the most part, even on FPS games, or games in general.

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Other IEM Comparisons!

Kiwi Ears Cadenza

• The Kiwi Ears Cadenza is a warmer, “safer” sounding in terms of the upper frequencies. Its overall sound is also thicker and smoother as well, but lacks the speed and tactility the EPZ Q1 Pro has. As for the technicalities, the EPZ Q1 Pro takes the cake, especially on the separation, layering, and imaging.

VS Simgot EW200

• In a nutshell, the EW200 is brighter, a bit more expansive in the soundstage department, and a bit more monotonous in the bass department. The Q1 Pro is less bright with a slightly smaller stage when compared.

VS Truthear Zero (Blue)

• The Truthear Zero Blue has more bass quantity and thickness when compared. It also has more treble definition as well, but falls short when compared to the EPZ Q1 Pro when it comes to refinement and speed. Technical performance is a bit better on the EPZ Q1 Pro, but not by much.

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Pros:

• Well-done, Harman-sounding IEM!
• All-rounder sound profile.
• Very clean, detailed, nearly non-lacking bass response!
• Clean, open, vivid mids!
• Airy, well-extended upper frequencies.
• Very good technical performance for its asking price.
• Excellent fit, comfort, and isolation!
• Aesthetically-pleasing driver shells (subjective)
• Easy to drive.

Cons:

• While this IEM is nowhere near sibilant, upper mids may be perceived as “shouty” on higher volumes.
• Mids may lack depth to some ears, especially if your ears are accustomed to warm, thicker sounding sets.
• Minimal accessories for its asking price. A hard case or another set of eartips would’ve been a good treat for everyone.

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I must say, among all of the IEMs I have owned, loaned, and auditioned, the EPZ Q1 Pro is by far the most refined, versatile, and “ear-friendly” Harman-sounding IEM under 60 USD! Its overall implementation, from its drivability, down to its tonal and technical performance, are well-thought of and caters almost all preferences and needs for an all-rounder, everyday carry IEM by most people. I can even confidently recommend this IEM to anyone who “just wants an IEM, but miles and leaps better from their stock earphones” as It’s that versatile and good for me to do so. If we’re talking about in the hobbyist context, it is still one of the better IEMs under 100 USD and it holds on its own despite following a common sound profile, but may bore out some ears who prefer something different every now and then. Highly recommended!


Pairing recommendation/s:

• Source: This IEM is easy to drive, therefore, a neutral sounding source will do. However, a warmer source is preferred to add a bit of thickness and warmth to the overall sound.
• Eartips: The eartips are more than enough and do not compromise the overall sound. You may still use your preferred eartips.
• Cable: The cable is more than enough and very light for everyday use. You may still use your preferred cable.

Thank you for reading!

Non-affiliated link here: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006467098821.html

Additional Photos Here: