[NymPHONOmaniac]

Hello headfiers! I've seek for a thread about (good) bone conduction earphones and can't find any.

This isn't about single bone conduction driver sport earbuds or wtv, it's about hybrid, tribrid and quad drivers IEM with bone conduction.

I feel we are into a momentum right now and that 2024 will bring use more bone conduction configuration tech.

And yes, CHifi might take a big part in this.

Let's begin by my humble collection, i own 4 IEMs with BC.

Unique Melody Mest MK3 (!DD+4BA+4EST+1 wide band BC)
(my end game IEM and no1 reason of my BC obsession)
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/unique-melody-mest-mkiii-cf.26526/reviews#review-31285

Pros:
-superhuman resolution
-ultra precise next level imaging
-holographic multi layered soundstage
-fast punchy textured bass with excellent definition
-excellent sub and mid bass layering and resolution
-vast open mids with fully covered sound info
-fowards vocal, piano and main instrument
-rich in details texture yet transparent enough too
-edgy definition, no contour blur
-fast snappy ultra controlled attack
-infinite number of micro details: effortless way
-treble sparkle-brillance and long clean natural resonance
-even silence have resolution info
-can deal and even refresh any music you throw at
-neutral with slight bass boost, lively and crisp way
-non fatiguing tx to BC driver
-small and light housing is very comfortable
-intense noise isolation
-strange to say but: good sound value even at this price!

Cons:
-those who love thick colored mids timbre might find it slightly thin
-at VERY high volume we can have extra fuzzy resonance in upper mids with soprano singer loud passage
-the bass impact isn't vast in headroom and not super weighty or chunky (not for basshead)
-treble info might be overwhelming for some
-cable is absurdly bulky

UM Mext (1DD+4BA+1 coil BC)
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/un...of-bone-conduction.25639/reviews#review-28827

Pros:
-Smooth crisp and immersive musicality
-Exceptional resolution
-Organically Cohesive tribrid tuning
-Richly detailed mid-range with focused presence
-Fast snappy treble with tremendous micro-details amount
-Nice transparency
-3D spatiality with fully present center stage
-Great imaging-layering
-Realist timbre
-Excellent all-arounder (even including gaming and movie watching)
-authoritative bass with tactile weight
-their nothing that sound like the Mext
-more musical than Mest MK2 (subjective)
-good cable, nice case and very welcome Azla eartips

Cons:
-bass is a bit warm in definition and resolution compared to mids-treble
-lows are mid bass focus, lacking deep linear extension
-timbre is a hint compressed in density
-lack of air in overall spatiality
-capricious fitting to achieve supreme sound experience
-overly tight 2pin connector with rounded edge

BQEYZ Winter (1DD+1piezo BC for treble)
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/bqeyz-winter.26039/reviews

Bright neutral with vivid yet non fatiguing upper treble, very snappy and clean in micro details with extra layering from BC. Mids aren't the most pleasant and sub bass is roll off.

BQEYZ Wind (1 coil BC for bass-mids+10mm dual cavity DD)
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/bqeyz-wind.26715/reviews#review-31923

Ok, i do adore those quite alot and its the go too for plain mid centric BC hybrid, in that regard, it surpass UM MK3 which have a bit more ''noisy'' less colored with appealing warmth timbre....its the most lush and musical IEM of the bunch here to my ears....your drowning into mids sweetness and bass line are delivered in uniquely layered way, super smooth yet rich in texture. everything is mellow and immersive with those and the price is so competitive....yet, the trade off is in uppe treble and sparkle as well as clean air, the BC do add a macro dynamic warmth and smoothen bass impact roundness. anyway, these are a must have for vocal and mid range lover, it's ultra HD mids here, non bright harsh way....

Pros:
-Unique mid centric tonality
-excellent bass layering
-deep vibrant dense sub bass
-round dynamic mid bass
-incredible mid range resolution with full presence
-organic cohesion between bone conduction and dynamic driver
-end game vocal specialist
-numerous micro details and sound layers extraction from BC that wasn't perceivable with normal hearing
-warm overall macro dynamic
-nothing sound like the Wind its GREAT
-excellent craftmanship
-great 4.4 balanced cable
-good accessories
-good sound value (like having a darker mid centric UM Mext for 1/4 of the price)

Cons:
-power hungry
-bass separation isn't crisp or clean, it's all about layering
-treble lack sparkle and air and isn't extracting as much details as mid range
-half open back mean sound leakage

So, the goal of the thread is to share impressions and news as well as our though about bone conduction tech. I do feel it open new doors in acoustic experience that only this kind of IEM can achieve, mixing air and bone vibration transmission can bypass compromise of air transmission....in fact i would need to do drawing to explain the psychoacoustic experience these deliver...its near esoteric!

Right now my eye is one the BGVP DMA, its the very first sub-1000$ tribrid with BC i think, but it's a ''sonion bc vibator'', different from those above.

i think its this one:https://www.sonion.com/wp-content/uploads/37AAX007_A-3019972.pdf

its not a wide range BC, more a mid range that top around 2-4khz....

the big deal is the price: 300$

if well tuned, this might offer incredible sound value.

 

[PeacockObscura]

I have quite a few Bone Conducting iems but they are all IMR limited editions so not readily available only on the 2nd Hand Market. At least one is on Penon though. The Elan + 1DD+ Ba+BC
The others
EDP Ace 1DD+Planar+ BC
ELAN DD + BC
DARK matter DD+BC
Titan DD+ Quad EST+BC
Oh and the Kiwi Ears Quintet

 

[NymPHONOmaniac]

so we have very first impressions of BGVP DMA, thanks to ChiFi Love member Keith Chan.

I copy paste here:

Keith Chan
My blind buy... I am no reviewer .. The modular stock cable is very nice , the stock tips comes in vocal and bass tips .. I use the vocal tips and the bass is more than big enough for me .. The focus is bass .. quite special to me as if I am the drummer .. impactful and like having reverb . Nice for male vocal. Instruments sound right to my ears. Soundstage sounds bit narrow to me , female vocal sounds mellow , laid back , not dynamic. That is to my ears ..




4



+2

Keith Chan wow, nice tx so much, very first impressions ive ever ead about those and its revealing.
seem a bassy one with BC boosting vocal in lean way, since it doesnt have same impact on ear drum...
at they end, the question would be: do you like them bro?





Keith Chan
Eric Lab I like them for most genes except for edm which has a lot of "thump" which might cause a headache for me .. but I absolutely love the sub bass it produce


https://www.facebook.com/groups/517...cJssqRuLOckOSgARah3lHkWLraBrfv0Og&__tn__=R]-R
Keith Chan
Eric Lab one more thing , I love its sound of strings instruments like volin .. pure piano music pieces sound a bit flat to me

 

[Tamizhan]

Plutus beast. Did it work out along the lines of other BCD IEMs? Before this, wind was the cheapest someone could get a chance at bone conduction drivers.

 

[NymPHONOmaniac]

Plutus beast. Did it work out along the lines of other BCD IEMs? Before this, wind was the cheapest someone could get a chance at bone conduction drivers.

nah....it was a yuck face at first listen, i will test them more and share proper sound impressions. for now, DMA is the best budget tribrid with BC

i forget to share my review here....i wish it make front page of headfi since its really a great IEM. a different beast too....but BGVP isnt a sponsor...so i guess thats the thing...lets wait for KZ BC IEM then!

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/bgvp-dma-hybrid-bone-conduction-iem.26975/reviews

 

[Tamizhan]

nah....it was a yuck face at first listen, i will test them more and share proper sound impressions. for now, DMA is the best budget tribrid with BC

i forget to share my review here....i wish it make front page of headfi since its really a great IEM. a different beast too....but BGVP isnt a sponsor...so i guess thats the thing...lets wait for KZ BC IEM then!

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/bgvp-dma-hybrid-bone-conduction-iem.26975/reviews

I like Celest brand for letting everyone know that it can be done at budget friendly price as well. But yeah, it'll take more trials from other manufacturers to get the tuning and driver combination right for the mass audience.

 

[NymPHONOmaniac]

I like Celest brand for letting everyone know that it can be done at budget friendly price as well. But yeah, it'll take more trials from other manufacturers to get the tuning and driver combination right for the mass audience.

indeed, i respect Kinera-Celest alot for pushing the techs competitivity and availability further. they patent new drivers alot.
pandamon is quite good while Pheonixcall too, quite impressive in technical performance

 

[lgcubana]

No better way to start a New Year, than with a successful, semi blind buy, of the
BGVP DMA
The driver configuration (1x DD, 2x BA, 2X BCD), more than satisfies my basshead needs. While not compromising/sacrificing to the remainder of the frequency response range.

 

[-rowan-]

i forget to share my review here....i wish it make front page of headfi since its really a great IEM. a different beast too....but BGVP isnt a sponsor...so i guess thats the thing...lets wait for KZ BC IEM then!

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/bgvp-dma-hybrid-bone-conduction-iem.26975/reviews

Nice review and it largely aligns with my impressions of DMA as well.

Could you compare DMA with Wind? I saw that you didn’t have it on hand at the time you wrote the review but I recall you had some good things to say about Wind as well. Are you able to offer any general comparisons?

 

[Tamizhan]

@-rowan- @lgcubana Does it get too intense with DMA sometimes as described by Eric, especially with the vocals?
How's the soundstage as well?

 

[alamnp]

So far BCD IEMs that I have is MEST and Mentor.
I am enjoying Mentor for the concert like and Headphones like presentation.

The best I’ve heard so far in IEMs.

 

[-rowan-]

@-rowan- @lgcubana Does it get too intense with DMA sometimes as described by Eric, especially with the vocals?
How's the soundstage as well?

Still burning them in and getting to know them. The mids are not quite as rich, lush or bodied as I’m used to, coming from the likes of Quattro, but they’re quite forward all the same so I can imagine why they may come across intense for some. I can say that they’re fine for my library though. I don’t like thin or screamy vocals and don’t have much of those to test with but if you have examples of any tracks in mind that you’re concerned about I could give them a whirl when I have time.

Soundstage doesn’t seem particularly large but the mids especially are well separated from the background. I would describe it as being a bit like using portrait mode on your phone to add depth of field to a photo and make your subject pop.

I’m not 100% sure what the bone conductor is doing. Is it the depth of field trick? Still experimenting with the fit to see if I can optimise its effect.

Caveat is they’re pretty sensitive to tip rolling so my impressions may change yet. I didn’t like the fit or sound with the stock tips. Currently using Spiral Dots++ but that may change. I also quite like them with Radius Deep Mount, Spinfit CP100+, Penon Liqueur orange and Penon Fan blue tips.

 

[lgcubana]

@-rowan- @lgcubana Does it get too intense with DMA sometimes as described by Eric, especially with the vocals?
How's the soundstage as well?

The low end (subwoofer range) can get intense, depending on the song, but will put a smile on your face.

Soundstage: width & height are moderate, so better than some. Definitely enough for Chris Issak’s, “Wicked Game” to remain a standout.

 

[Tamizhan]

it surpass UM MK3 which have a bit more ''noisy'' less colored with appealing warmth timbre

Wind is more noisy or Mest is?

 

[Progisus]

What are thoughts on EE Evo. I find it fatiguing and have not had much luck with finding a satisfying EQ curve. I am an EE fan so I will keep trying. I don‘t feel much effect from the bcd. I still prefer the Legend X.