BQEYZ Spring 1 Review (1) – Strong, Solid Roots And Pleasantly Smooth

Pros: Good tonality, smooth, airiness, long nozzles.

Cons: Cable ear guides are stiff making it bounce, plastic sheathing feel, minor mid-bass bleed.

INTRO

BQEYZ is known for many budget hits such as the KB100, BQ3, KC2 and K2. I only own the KC2, but found them to be smooth and enjoyable. Once I saw the Spring 1 I was on board to see what they offered, and the image it portrays is simple and elegant. Brands like KZ tend to constantly be in beta testing mode with constant releases, and they like to play with the styling aspect. BQEYZ appears on the surface to have a plan and pays attention to details such as actual use of dampers on their balanced armatures, at least in the KC2/K2 lineup. It’s time to see what the Spring 1 is all about.

SPECIFICATIONS

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

PACKAGE INCLUDES…

• Spring 1 earphones
• S/M/L Atmosphere tips (Firmer, narrow bore, shallow nozzle)
• S/M/L Reference tips (softer, wide bore, shallow nozzle)
• M foam tip pair
• Case
• 8 Core Upgrade Silver-Plated Cable
• Velcro cable tie

The cable is thicker than your typical <$80 budget IEM’s estimated value is $10-25, but I find the cable insulation a bit plasticy (feels like a Twizzler candy). The ear guides are a bit too stiff and can bounce off your ears. Microphonics are extremely low, and I have no beef with the connection quality. 

Ear tips – I strongly recommend shallow wide bore types if you want to reduce the bass level, narrow bores will increase the bass and make it sound boomier. The included Reference tips are softer and may be hard for some to get a good seal. The Atmosphere tips have a narrower inner diameter and are stiffer. I found the Nicehck M6 or Nicehck P3 wide-bore tips work well if the reference tips were too soft to get a good seal. The atmosphere tips give the bass notes more weight, but sound too boomy in comparison to the reference tips. Treble also takes a hit with the narrow bore, coming off as a little more harsh. The reference tips were used for the purpose of this review.

The BQEYZ Spring 1 tucks nicely into my ears and the nozzle is longer than the BQEYZ KC2 and has a lip yay! It is a larger diameter nozzle- be warned smaller ear folks. The angle is a good fit for me too.

SOUND & TECHNICALITIES

The BQEYZ Spring 1 seems to handle a wide variety of listening levels. Some budget options or even mid-fi might struggle at higher volumes and get shouty, or just start breaking up and sounding harsh (looking at you BLON BL03). The Spring 1 really makes use of the volume knob and comes more alive at medium to higher volumes. Still sounds great at low volumes too, but I find medium to higher volumes are more exciting on this particular IEM giving it more air between the instruments. I did not notice any difference driving it from my HTC10 vs my JDS Labs O2.

Bass is soft and polite, leaning towards punch with some extension. Has a medium decay to it, so it is not too sharp. 

Minor mid-bass bleed present which helps add a touch of warmth to female vocals. Smooth and refined, it doesn’t come off as sounding too recessed. I think female vocals have a good sense of depth and sit in-line with instrumentation. Male vocals tend to sit behind the mix a bit.

Treble comes off as polite again and smoothed out, not edgy. The sound is more mature, and is halfway between scooped out trying to avoid being sibilant (KZ ZSN), and more exciting treble types like the KZ ZS10pro or TRN V90 where the 5-7Khz is boosted. On the BQEYZ Spring 1, cymbals have a quick decay. Sibilance is only present when the track has it.

Tonality is great, timbre is good, brain adjustment not needed when switching between IEMs which to me is a sign of natural timbre. Coherence is great, just a notch below excellent level typical for single drivers. Good dynamics, no sign of compression or congestion on busy tracks.

COMPARISONS

Pioneer SE-CH9T ($130): The SE-CH9T slightly more accentuated tighter bass over the Spring1. Vocals are more forward on the Spring 1 and smoother. Splashier treble that tends to make brass instruments sharper on the Pioneer, is smoothed out on the Spring 1.

NiceHCKM6 (supposed BGVP DMG clone; our review HERE) ($100): BQEYZ Spring 1 has more controlled bass over the M6 with stock shell colored nozzles. The 3^rd party filter helps bring it closer to the defined bass in the Spring 1. Lower treble on the M6 is smoother but sounds a bit darker due to the sharp roll off at the top end. The Spring 1 brings more energy to cymbals and woodwinds. Spring 1 has better coherence, and vocals are slightly deeper than the more forward M6. The shell of the M6 is more comfortable for my ears, and the cable on the M6 is solid, non-microphonic, good weight, and not kinky. I don’t normally care about cables but the M6 cable is near perfect for me. The Spring1 cable needs improvement due to it’s stiff, bouncy, plastic nature.

Ibasso IT01 (version1) ($100): Vocals take a back seat in the ibasso IT01, bass extension and boost gives the IT01 a fuller sound but some might find it too much over the Spring 1. Upper treble is better on the Spring 1, the IT01 sounds a bit duller despite mid-treble enhancement. IT01 reminds me of 70’s, 80’s big speaker sound, where the Spring 1 resembles a typical slimmer tower speaker. Spring 1 has more spacing between instruments and less congestion than the IT01. IT01 has better isolation due to the tight fitting shell, and a much softer premium cable.

TRN V90 ($50)…our review HERE: Bass has a little more sub-bass extension and slightly boosted, treble is livelier and as a result everything sounds sharper. The BQEYZ Spring 1 is more refined and smoother. Spring 1 is a more mature sounding IEM that bridges the gap between neutral and fun.

You find an INDEX of all our earphone reviews HERE.

OUTRO

To fit my personal preferences, I would shift the bass peak a little lower to bring in more sub-bass and alleviate the mid-bass bleed, and also ~ +3db on the tippy top to make more use of the piezo drive would really be fun.  Although the BQEYZ Spring 1 has minor hiccups depending on if you care about cable functionality and minor mid-bass bleed, I think the positives of smoothness throughout, no congestion, tonality, and the right balance of airiness leading to a good sense of instrument spacing should put this one on the short list of anyone looking to step up to the next price bracket of $100-150…or anyone coming down as well. While I don’t have anything to compare in IEMs above or around the $200 mark other than Moondrop Kanas Pro and UE Triplefi, this one should check the boxes for those looking for an unobtrusive presentation with mild bass and treble lift. It’s moved into daily use rotation for me. Stay tuned for more takes on these as JK and Loomis give their opinions.

MEASUREMENTS

Note: anything above the ~8khz peak is not reliable.

Disclaimer: I found a discount code from another reviewer and purchased these direct from BQEYZ on aliexpress. No incentives received by Audioreviews or anyone else to write any material. No trees harmed during the photographing process.

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