BQEYZ Frost Reviews | Melodic tuning with rich holographic background —BielakP
Melodic tuning with rich holographic background
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/bqeyz-frost.27696/reviews
BQEYZ Frost Pros:
- rich, full-bodied sound,
- lush, dense sound presentation
- all-rounder, performing well in the vast majority of genres
- beautiful appearance
- great cable
- tuning: warm neutral
- very good instrument separation
- non-invasive treble
- no sibilants, NONE!!!
- great vocals
- rich background sound
- lush, dense sound presentation
- all-rounder, performing well in the vast majority of genres
- beautiful appearance
- great cable
- tuning: warm neutral
- very good instrument separation
- non-invasive treble
- no sibilants, NONE!!!
- great vocals
- rich background sound
BQEYZ Frost Cons:
- Its lush, forward presentation may tire some, although I liked it quite a lot
- The taming of the high midrange is the direct cause of limitations as to the enhancement of detail or clarity
- Some might call the tuning muddled, or dim
- cable, although nice, stiffens at lower temperatures
- It would be nice to experience a modular cable termination
- The taming of the high midrange is the direct cause of limitations as to the enhancement of detail or clarity
- Some might call the tuning muddled, or dim
- cable, although nice, stiffens at lower temperatures
- It would be nice to experience a modular cable termination
INTRODUCTION
My knowledge of BQEYZ dates back around 1.5 years ago, when, as a beginning audio-enthusiast, I was looking for non-new budget models that are still worth exploring. It was then that someone recommended the BQEYZ KC02 to me. Built like a combination of a battleship and a lego block, this iem delighted me with imaging capabilities. In all honesty, those were the first moments when I began to pay attention to the location of the emerging sound, and I remember that for quite a long time the KC02s remained in my ears as an example of so called “#stillgoodchifi”. Despite some limitations, it does not change the fact that they made a mega-positive impression on me at the time. Later, I had the opportunity to experience the BQEYZ Wind, which became for quite a long time my favorite iem in the collection. Great vocals, natural sounding instruments, sensational bass and maybe a little ... indefinite treble, are for me the hallmarks of this set. Well, and maybe a bit challenging in matching with the right tips, but yet somehow I always managed to find a good pairing (for me Wind paired great with BGVP W01, EPZ M100 and Tripowin Spiral Groove Foam Tips).
Now, thanks to the kindness of BQEYZ, which allowed me to purchase the latest FROST model at a very attractive price, I have the opportunity to experience its capabilities and describe to you what I think of them.
PRESENTATION
As usual, let's start with the product presentation itself.
BQEYZ knows how to create packaging that meets expectations, and this time it didn't disappoint either. The packaging is quite small (smaller than the Wind) . On the front, we see a picture of the handset itself, showing the pattern resembling snowflakes on a blue background. After opening the package, we come across the headphones themselves, but also a black hard case with the BQEYZ logo on it and a set of eartips inside, 7 pairs of tips to be exact: three pairs (S,M,L) named Atmosphere, three pairs (also S,M,L) named Reference and one pair of foam tips - quite rich I must say. For me, the Atmosphere size M was the best choice ( strangely enough, from the Reference set, the L size fit me better - maybe the different material lined up differently in the ear canal). In addition, we also get a broom for cleaning wax off difficult-to-reach places.
Now, a few words about the cable. As soon as I saw it, it absolutely charmed me. The beautiful deep-blue cable, which shimmers in various shades, looks downright gorgeous. Plus, the convenient ear-hook twist and stylish terminations (in my case 4.4) give a real “premium look”. I'm not going to lie: in my opinion, this is the nicest stock cable I've had the opportunity to experience - and probably not only in this price class.
Perhaps a few more words about the appearance of the headphones themselves. Briefly: they are beautiful! The glass panel covering the “flake” pattern on a blue background, combined with the cold silver aluminium case, looks stunning. The light, falling on the surface of the front panel, causes the background to take on different shades of blue, making an electrifying impression - a true premium finish. Brawo BQEYZ!
As for the construction of the headphones, it's a combination of a 10mm Dynamic driver with a PU+PEEK (polyurethane + polyetheretherketone) diaphragm and a micro-planar driver.
BQEYZ Frost LISTENING EXPERIENCE
From the first seconds of listening, you know that you are dealing with a very good set. The first word that popped into my head after putting FROST in my ears was: dense! The sound is dense, rich and full-bodied, and the presentation of sounds itself is close, accompanied by a rich background. Music seems to come out of everywhere, filling all the space around the listener, while providing a holographic backdrop and a fairly deep stage for the instruments.
I consider the tuning itself to be “warm-neutral,” with:
BASS
- is omnipresent, but not exaggerated
- The extended mid-bass, towards the middle registers, is the foundation of the warm sound characteristics of this set.
- The bass blends a bit with the midrange tones, causing a bit of bass bleed
- The sub-bass is audible, but it's the mid-bass that comes first here
- The bass guitar sounds meaty, with the texture and crunch that I love so much
- The drum foot hits with satisfying momentum; likewise, the snare drum
- This is not a set for bassheads, while it is as much for fans of warm sound
MIDS
- lower mids, accompany mid-bass in providing great weight for notes and creating the effect of “in-your-face” sound presentation
- Well, and that bass bleed, but not as a defect in tuning, rather a feature
- Middle registers are lush, rich, and have a considerable amount of weight
- sounds of percussion, especially of instruments made of wood, or other various knock sounds, sound natural and very satisfying
- Higher mid are safe, and won't deliver any sibilants to your sonic experience
- For those sensitive to shouting, this set will suit you well
- … but safe tuning does not mean that the set is boring
- Female vocals are nice, but with male vocals, there is some crowding present, which weakens the sense of selectivity and clarity
- high midrange, sometimes too safe
TREBLE
- Of all frequencies, this area is the least exposed
- drum cymbals, bells, triangles, clicks and other treble sounds are audible, but not intrusive
- Clearly, this set is not for trebleheads (the clarity in higher registers lacks presence)
- The higher part of the treble spectrum is equipped with good resolution, translating into a sense of space and greater depth of stage for the background sounds
To sum up the tuning part:
Even before I put the headphones in my ears, I associated the “Frost” name with the sharpness and expected the sound to be bright and strongly defined, like a frosty wind that can freeze your breath in the winter season. As soon as the first notes flew, it turned out how wrong I was, because the Frost is the complete opposite of my expectations. The BQEYZ Frost is a mélange of softness and thick notes, with the low-mid registers being the star of the show, which will probably appeal mostly to those looking for a departure from popular harman tuning, toward more warmth and lack of harshness in sound.
I'd still like to quote to you, the reader, a “real life” anecdote that may shed a little more light on this sense of “sound density” I mention in my review. In my business life, I do office work, spending most of my time in a so-called “open space”, where I have a colleague next to my seat, whom I occasionally bore with the trivia from the world of headphones. One day, I suggested he spend the day with BQEYZ Frost in his ears. I happened to have a day full of meetings, so I spent most of the day away from my desk. However, when at the end of the day I approached him with the regular question:
- “How was it?”
,He responded:
- " Dude, but this set tired me out! There were so many things going on at once. This was too much for me."
At this point, I realised that something that for me was a nice variety, and one of the advantages of this set, for someone else could be overwhelming and tiring. Keep this in mind when considering buying this set.
Aside from the tuning side itself, I think the strength of this set still lies in some aspects of the so-called technicalities, so a few words about that:
I'd still like to quote to you, the reader, a “real life” anecdote that may shed a little more light on this sense of “sound density” I mention in my review. In my business life, I do office work, spending most of my time in a so-called “open space”, where I have a colleague next to my seat, whom I occasionally bore with the trivia from the world of headphones. One day, I suggested he spend the day with BQEYZ Frost in his ears. I happened to have a day full of meetings, so I spent most of the day away from my desk. However, when at the end of the day I approached him with the regular question:
- “How was it?”
,He responded:
- " Dude, but this set tired me out! There were so many things going on at once. This was too much for me."
At this point, I realised that something that for me was a nice variety, and one of the advantages of this set, for someone else could be overwhelming and tiring. Keep this in mind when considering buying this set.
Aside from the tuning side itself, I think the strength of this set still lies in some aspects of the so-called technicalities, so a few words about that:
BQEYZ Frost TECHNICALITIES
Frost's stage is deep, and the holographic presentation repeatedly impressed me. As I wrote above, the presentation of the sounds themselves is close and very dense, with more than once I caught myself hearing two main planes of sound: the close one and a rather distant background, with this background that I can also describe as rich. I wondered why there was so much space between these two planes, and only playing with the EQ and comparing the FR graph gave me the answer.
This pit, after 2 kHz, reaches up to 5 kHz, is causing this space. When I made myself an EQ preset, raising this area by a few decibels (especially around 3.5 kHz), the space between the background and the “main stage” has shortened. After these changes, the Frost also handled guitars a bit more clearly, and surprisingly, the risk of harshness or sibilants didn't increase enough to be a problem to me (it's probably such a peculiarity of the drivers used). The extra 2-3 dB in the sub-bass area didn't hurt either, but it didn't affect the overall presentation to a considerable extent.
I have to admit that for a set whose characteristic for me is melodic, it handles imaging quite well. Maybe it's not “pinpoint precision” in locating the instrument in space, but it's pretty good (audible especially with percussion transitions, caught up vocal lines, or guitar or percussion inserts placed in mixes). Here I encourage you to find yourself a piece by Mr. Yosi Horikawa - Letter, and then close your eyes and travel with your mind following the sounds of a dancing pencil.
This pit, after 2 kHz, reaches up to 5 kHz, is causing this space. When I made myself an EQ preset, raising this area by a few decibels (especially around 3.5 kHz), the space between the background and the “main stage” has shortened. After these changes, the Frost also handled guitars a bit more clearly, and surprisingly, the risk of harshness or sibilants didn't increase enough to be a problem to me (it's probably such a peculiarity of the drivers used). The extra 2-3 dB in the sub-bass area didn't hurt either, but it didn't affect the overall presentation to a considerable extent.
I have to admit that for a set whose characteristic for me is melodic, it handles imaging quite well. Maybe it's not “pinpoint precision” in locating the instrument in space, but it's pretty good (audible especially with percussion transitions, caught up vocal lines, or guitar or percussion inserts placed in mixes). Here I encourage you to find yourself a piece by Mr. Yosi Horikawa - Letter, and then close your eyes and travel with your mind following the sounds of a dancing pencil.
BQEYZ Frost PAIRING
In terms of pairing with a source, in my small range of sources, the Frost paired best with the TRN BLACK PEARL (2xCS43131), which gave me a bit more stage and treble selectivity than its Moondrop Dawn Pro double, but the difference was not colossal, and I can recommend MDP as well. I also give good marks to the pairing with the budget Dongle DAC, Celest cd-2, which amplified Frost's melodiousness.
Pairing with tip-rollers should also not be overlooked, because although it may seem insignificant, it can completely transform your sound experience. Although I did the so-called tip-rolling on a large scale here, because I couldn't find anything for me, I used Final Autio E-type tips practically all the time, which, in my opinion, perfectly complemented the best qualities of this set, and I encourage you to do such pairing as well.
Pairing with tip-rollers should also not be overlooked, because although it may seem insignificant, it can completely transform your sound experience. Although I did the so-called tip-rolling on a large scale here, because I couldn't find anything for me, I used Final Autio E-type tips practically all the time, which, in my opinion, perfectly complemented the best qualities of this set, and I encourage you to do such pairing as well.
EXAMPLES OF THE TRACKS
I don't want to elaborate too much here, because again my review will swell to sky-high proportions, but at least some interesting tracks and my thoughts while listening to them, I would like to cite here, and let's start with:
Mos Def - UMI Says
Kaak & Smaak, Sachimode - Don't Want this to be over
RAYE - Worth it
Ne Obliviscaris - And Plague Flowers the Kaleidoscope
Since such a conclusion at the end, what kind of music is this set for?
I can say without hesitation that it worked best for me in such genres as electronic music, hip-hop, folk, classic rock, rock, funk, jazz, and blues. On the other hand, metal, especially the kind with a lot of sounds, can sometimes sound a little crowded, but there is no rule for that (now, for example, I'm listening to Deftones - Around the fur and I have not the slightest remarks about selectivity).
Mos Def - UMI Says
- The track begins with soft bass and clicks over the drum cymbals, which sound natural and gentle
- The snare drum also sounds natural, along with clear vocals, while the main drum (a common "FOOT") is characterised by a strong punch, but it's not too much exaggerated
- keyboards and probably cymbals, enrich the background of the track, at no time being obtrusive
- Later in the song, when more is going on, the drum cymbals are already only gently making their presence known, as such gentle splashes of percussive sheet metal (towards the end of the song, they make their presence known again)
Kaak & Smaak, Sachimode - Don't Want this to be over
- Bass with appropriate texture, appropriate for a bass guitar
- Vocals are quiet, not particularly exposed, but pleasant
- Percussion as if from a drum machine (and it probably is)
- In the refrain, there is a natural sound of “feathering” with a knuckle on the strings of an acoustic guitar
- Keys quite quickly become the main rhythmic element, and in the refrain, this one sustained note, builds the effect of a background space
- Overall pleasant chillout track, with a chillout presentation
RAYE - Worth it
- But how soft it sounds: long sweeping guitar tones, soft bass, choruses billowing out like smoke and RAYE's delicate voice
- Layering cool - separates the choruses from the main vocal line
- In the chorus, string plucks on the guitar are very clear and well separated from the other instruments
- A little bit of percussion blending together, especially the hi-hat, snare and bass guitar - a bit blurred selectivity
Ne Obliviscaris - And Plague Flowers the Kaleidoscope
- The combination of violin and metal gives you the opportunity to judge the effectiveness of separating the instruments from the thicket of sound
- Once it all starts, the instruments you hear most clearly are: bass, percussion, drums (especially the transitions on them) and surprisingly also the cymbal clicks, but only some of them (only those that use the higher treble areas)
- Of course, when the violin appears, it is also well audible, as well as the guitar during the solo, while the guitars in the rhythmic moments are more such a mass of sound, which is not necessarily a bad thing, of course, but only confirms that BQEYZ Frost is more melodic than analytical
- Again, this bass, which can sometimes surprise as it emerges from the thicket of sounds, winning independence from the rest of the instruments, transitions and plays
- Overall presentation, I rate very well, but this is probably not a set for metal songs, when there's a lot of sound happening at once
Since such a conclusion at the end, what kind of music is this set for?
I can say without hesitation that it worked best for me in such genres as electronic music, hip-hop, folk, classic rock, rock, funk, jazz, and blues. On the other hand, metal, especially the kind with a lot of sounds, can sometimes sound a little crowded, but there is no rule for that (now, for example, I'm listening to Deftones - Around the fur and I have not the slightest remarks about selectivity).
SUMMARY
Okay, it's time to sum up.
BQEYZ is a sensational manufacturer that does not like boredom. It's not a company that replicates patterns, but someone who takes risks, inspires and pushes boundaries to give the customer something unique, and the Frost model is no exception. On the one hand, BQEYZ has once again impressed with its original and unconventional design, while at the same time creating a great set that doesn't follow the worn-out harman-target path, but instead offers a melodic, warm, dense sound, with heavy notes, devoided of shrillness or sibilance, while fully engaging the listener.
BTW, you can order BQEYZ FROST from their official site, here: https://bqeyz.net/products/frost-wired-earphones?_pos=2&_sid=59c82c465&_ss=r
BQEYZ is a sensational manufacturer that does not like boredom. It's not a company that replicates patterns, but someone who takes risks, inspires and pushes boundaries to give the customer something unique, and the Frost model is no exception. On the one hand, BQEYZ has once again impressed with its original and unconventional design, while at the same time creating a great set that doesn't follow the worn-out harman-target path, but instead offers a melodic, warm, dense sound, with heavy notes, devoided of shrillness or sibilance, while fully engaging the listener.
BTW, you can order BQEYZ FROST from their official site, here: https://bqeyz.net/products/frost-wired-earphones?_pos=2&_sid=59c82c465&_ss=r