BQEYZ Wind Review | WIND vs. CLOUD Comparison review -ammagamma

Both IEM's were tested with Meridian Explorer 2 DAC (which I like more and more every day), iBasso DAC and Bottlehead Creek Tube amp.

The Design

Esthetically, I really liked the designs of both Wind and Cloud, they both have a premium look and feel. The shells are made from aluminum but that might be an issue if you want to listen to them outdoors on cold days as they felt cold to touch on few colder mornings here in Ireland. They are also slightly microphonic. I also think the names should be opposite as the Cloud brings to mind somewhat muddy or veiled sound while Wind has more airy conotations but that’s a digression. They both have an open back type design so I believe this helps to create a better sense of space within music.

The Sound

Right of the bat BQEYZ CLOUD suprised me with a very funky sound and listening to Santana’s Supernatural album made me wanna dance around It provides very detailed and somewhat light and airy sound. It seems to be tuned towards upper mids so vocals and especially female ones sound really alive but you will notice occasional sibilance. The treble is very sparkly and rich but can be over-stimulating after a while. There’s plenty of bass in low frequency region but it decays a little bit too soon for my liking. It has nice wide soundstage but some background instruments are a little bit buried so instrument separation and imagining could be better. Santana’s guitar had an amazing tone and timbre, as had the snare drum however bass even thought it had plenty of body lacked some precision and articulation. Some brass instruments sounded a bit too thin and even screechy in higher registers.

It paired best with my Creek tube amp and Metallica’s Black Album (MFSL remaster) sounded mighty on it. Some “hot masters” like for example Rory’s Gallagher "Tatoo" album sounded too harsh but it’s the way the remaster was done, which is such a shame as it’s an amazing album by absolutely amazing guitarist.

BQEYZ WIND was by far my favorite of the 4 IEM’s I have received as the part of Europe Audio Geek Tour (the package also included Vampire and Dauntless from Kotori Audio). I was going to listen to maybe just a couple of tracks one afternoon after work but I got really immersed in the sound and listened to Kate Bush’s "Never For Ever" album straight through (it is my favorite KT album with great production from Kate herself, amazing lyrics and still has this 70’s vibe). Thanks to the bone conductor implementation, the bass is very well defined with a big punch, and nice round feel to it and yet isn’t overpowering. There’s nice shimmering in the treble which extends nicely and isn’t fatiguing at all and the mid frequencies are just perfect for me with a small emphasis on the lower part of the spectrum, which makes vocals and some keyboard parts sound really sweet. It also take some edge off the some hotter masters (ie, on Gaslighting Abbie by Steely Dan snare sound was much more pleasant than on the other 3 IEMS included). In general I would describe sound of WIND as more laidback (compared to CLOUD) with nice timbre to the instruments and music having more body to it. On tracks with brass instruments, they were sharp, well defined with good attack. The soundstage and imaging are pretty impressive too, extending well to both sides. On TOTO’s Rosanna I could clearly hear all different layers in the track and could not stop tapping my feet all the percussion instruments, congas, tambourine, finger snapping etc. were nicely presented in the mix and very clear.

I did a little bit of tips swapping with both WIND and CLOUD. Wasn’t very impressive with the sets provided and eventually settled for red tips from Salnotes (very cheap but surprisingly good).

I would highly recommend the WIND to anyone with this sort of budget.