TONAL BALANCE COHESION: 8.5/10
OVERALL TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE: 7.8/10
IMAGING: 7/10
SOUNDSTAGE: 8.5/10
FINE RESOLUTION: 7.5/10
TIMBRE: 8/10
ATTACK CONTROL-SPEED: 7.5/10
MUSICAL ENGAGEMENT: 8.8/10
SOUND VALUE: 8.2/10

BQEYZ is an IEM company from China that has been around for about 10 years. They are known to offer good budget IEM value and interesting hybrid drivers IEMs like the 1DD-1BA-1 piezo tribrid called Spring or lately the 1DD-1 bone conduction driver hybrid called Wind.

Today I will review their latest release, the BQEYZ Frost. Priced 180$, it’s a hybrid using 1x10mm dynamic driver+1 micro planar.

The construction is sumptuous, all thick polished metal that isn’t easy to scratch nor is a finger prints magnet, with back plate made of glass that is blue with snowflakes pattern, very eye appealing. This is completed with an eye-catching dark blue cable that is of excellent quality and adds even more elegance to the whole IEM look. This cable is a single crystal copper and silver plated mixed coaxial cable that can be selected in single ended 3.5mm termination or 4.4mm balanced termination.



SOUND IMPRESSIONS

The MUSICALITY of the Frost is everything but cold, it’s warm and naturally fluid in balance with fully bodied bass and mids with natural timbre of dynamic driver and a speedy but smooth treble handed by micro planar driver.

The tonality is leaning toward mid centric to warm neutral with slight mid bass boost due to bigger than nature (anamorphic) vocal and acoustic instrument lush presence. Piano notes are weighty and full, though not crisp nor long in attack release, both male and female vocals are well rounded without timbre harshness, it’s not the most transparent due to lower mids coloration and air vibrancy within the presence envelope which is softened in definition.

The Frost isn't one of those clean (often clinical too) harman tuned IEM, its no U shape and more of a soft W shape with upper treble roll off. This isn’t for treble head but those seeking an even musicality that feel like being at home, vocal lover will be spoil as well as acoustic music lover since even acoustic guitar is rendered with glorious realism as if BQEYZ goal was to deliver their own conception of colorful yet accurate instruments tone, the planar add hint of attack bite for guitar which gain in tactility and brighten definition without never dominating the mix, same goes for percussions which are speedy and crunchy without being sharp nor overly snappy in dynamic. As well, highs don’t offer sparkle nor clean brilliance, it’s on the dry and bodied side.

This mean it’s not a technical sounding set too and don’t induce wow effect in that aspect, bass isn’t very speedy and controlled, mid bass slam is a bit loose, not finely rounded, bass line can be hard to properly read when it goes lowest note inherent to sub bass section which is rolled off in release, don’t create a lot of resonance nor extend long, for electric bass it’s no issue, we have proper grunt and texture but for double bass attack release in jazz rendering is dark and a bit ‘’one tone’’. Yet, bass line asre vibrant and euphonic, mid bass is round and weighty with good punch authority even for rock music the kick isn't light nor recessed, just a bit darken by this bubbly sustain.

The Frost is a vocal specialist, both male and female way, wide lush presence near the listener, as if the singer in next side of same table than you and what is impressive is how the presence is enough bright yet never shouty or too agressive, .

When it come to treble, it's speedy and full sounding, this micro planar tend to extract micro sound layers in fullness, not thin ackward micro details, then it go in darkness, so no sparkle and brilliance release to be found, but the bite is crunchy and dynamic, without going plain agressive. Another sign of tuning refinement.

The Frost isn’t suggested for electronic music, unless slow like R&B which is a real pleasure to enjoy due to captivating and gently forwards female vocals, main highlight of the Frost.

The soundstage is above average, wide and tall but not deep, it’s too hazy in terms of background and the silence around the instrument isn’t fully transparent.

Imaging is under average, and that even if hybrid driver config permit a well layered macro dynamic, with 2 stages: one for bass and mids and other for percussions and notch of extra air. It’s evident BQEYZ choose their DD based on it's tone and timbre and not on it’s transient speed which is average and on par with way cheaper IEMs. Even Simgot EW200 DD is miles ahead in terms of speed and control of transience.

Nonetheless, the Frost is worth applause in terms of homogeneous balance that isn’t easy to achieve with micro planar, often adding a plasticky attack edge or out of phase timbre and speed. In that regard, it's the opposite of the Simgot EW300. Frost offers an euphonic analogous musicality that is fleshy in tone, nothing sound thin, nothing sound out of place, yet we would like more micro details, texture info, definition contour and ultimately: more competitive technical performance for the price.


COMPARISONS

VS ISN NEO 3 (2DD+1 micro planar-180$)

The NEO3 is more V shape and has more boxy and sibilant male and female vocal, where Frost is notably superior with wider vocal presence and more natural timbre.. It’s not as well balanced in term of drivers cohesions with Neo3, but offer more holographic layering as well as more speedy and round mid bass, though sub bass line are even more compressed than Frost. Everything sound bigger with frost as well as more mid centric, acoustic instrument sound more artificial and boxy and shouty with Neo3, their presence is more centered and bass tend to dominate and distract more from it.

Their no doubt tuning balance is better with Frost, from timbre to fluidity of cohesion which is more homogeneous.

VS HIDIZS MP145

MP145 is brighter, bassier and more U shaped in balance. Soundstage is notably wider, taller and deeper and the treble is snappier, more airy and informative. Bass is more textured and speedy, as well as better separated. Frost is warmer and smoother in balance with fuller and lusher mids and more natural and dense timbre for all sorts of instruments. MP145 has greater transparency for imaging and more open mid range, yet timbre is spiky, wind instrument sound more boxy and shouty and male vocals lack substance and well rounded presence. Mid bass and overall mids note weight is lighter with MP145. Technical performance is superior nonetheless.

All in all, MP145 sound thinner and less smooth in balance but offer superior technicalities from resolution to imaging to soundstage to treble extension and attack control and speed.

CONCLUSION


With about 20 years of experience in audiophile hobby but mostly as passionate music lover, i learn with time critical listening isn’t how you enjoy music, in fact: it can ruin the reaching to the soul and make cerebral a musicality that should be colorful and enveloping

At first listen, it’s never the technical performance that charms my ears, it's the tone and timbre and dynamic balance. In that regard, the Frost excel to deliver highly captivating musicality since your part of music, you get embraced by the natural tone of all instruments and both male and female vocals aren’t recessed nor thin or cold sounding. It was love at first listen and just grew more on me, then for this review I forced myself finding imperfection mostly affecting sense of clarity, which I do find problematic for more complex and savant music like classical, jazz and even rock.

So, nope, the Frost aren’t reference IEM nor suggested to monitor anything but perhaps vocal. It’s musical pleasure without guilt since mid range is what dominates the show yet you don’t lack bass weight and minimal punch nor highs minimal bite.

Sometime, maturity can be found in simplicity and this is what BQEYZ achieve with the Frost, it’s not an IEM that overwhelm your with too much sound info, too much treble aggressivity or too much bass boom and dominancy, it’s a jack of all trade, master of vocalist and acoustic instruments..
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Disclaimer: This is a review sample I personally ask to test, if BQEYZ ask me to pay 50% of price, i would have do it, since it's what I do now. Freebies mean nothing to me. And don't inflict on any type of sugar coating recognition. I would ''bite'' the hand of BQEYZ if I truely found the Frost bad, which isn't the case at all.

To directly support this rather underatted IEM company, you can order directly from their website here (non-affiliated link):
https://bqeyz.com/product/frost/