Destino Azell-BQEYZ WINTER: Solid ! This Should Be In Your Shortlist.
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:
BQEYZ WINTER 4 ★★★★
Solid ! This Should Be In Your Shortlist.
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.
