The Frost is Actually Pretty Warm

BQEYZ is a Chinese brand that’s been making waves in the audiophile community recently. And, while its name is gibberish, its products are the real deal. The Frost, a hybrid dynamic/planar IEM, is the first of their product’s I’ve listen to. It had recieved strong feedback from people I trust, so I placed an order for one. Well, it has arrived and has been one of the most interesting and entertaining IEMs I’ve reviewed in 2024. Let’s get into the specifics!

You can find the Frost for sale in the official BQEYZ AliExpress store for $179, here.

About My Preferences: This review is a subjective assessment and is therefore tinged by my personal preferences. While I try to mitigate this as much as possible during my review process, I’d be lying if I said my biases are completely erased. So for you, my readers, keep this in mind:

• My ideal sound signature would be one with competent sub-bass, a textured mid-bass, a slightly warm midrange, and an extended treble.
• I have mild treble sensitivity.

Testing equipment and standards can be found here.

Tech Specs

• Drivers: 10mm PU/PEEK Dynamic Driver + Micro Planar
• Impedance: 32 Ω
• Sensitivity: 113 dB
• Frequency: 5–40KHz
• Cable: 0.78mm-2 Pin SPC Coaxial, 3.5mm or 4.4mm termination

Sound Signature

Sonic Overview:

The Frost’s tuning is atypical for IEMs with its driver configuration. It features a well-extended, but gently emphasized, treble with a solid vocal spike in the upper midrange. Its lower midrange is linear with a warm tilt, while its mid-bass is lifted. The Frost’s sub-bass sits above its mid-bass and gives it a woofer-like tone. This arrangement gives the Frost a resolving, but solid, sound.

Sonic Breakdown:

Treble: Songs used: In One Ear, Midnight City, Outlands, Satisfy, Little One, Show Me How To Live (Live at the Quart Festival), Bittersweet Symphony

Unlike many other planar and planar-hybrid IEMs, the Frost’s treble is not sharp or aggressive. It is well-tamed and integrated nicely with the rest of sound signature. Songs that are usually sharp sound great through the Frost, underscoring how flexible it is. Satisfy is often a difficult listen on planar IEMs, but not the Frost; its usual sibilance is neutralized while its texture queues and micro-details are largely preserved. Midnight City is an enjoyable listen as well, with the Frost building up m83’s electric cityscape with competence. I find that colder, brighter IEMs often do a good job of creating a sense of emptiness and space in this song, which is something that the Frost didn’t seem to nail.

Total resolution in the upper register is excellent for this price segment and underscores the Frost’s high-quality design and component selection. It leverages its planar driver to grab, resolve, and stage a huge amount of treble detail. Bittersweet Symphony’s treble-bound cacophony was neatly ordered, with the Frost layering, but not spacing, the different string, percussion, and digital instrumentation.

Midrange: Songs used: Flagpole Sitta, Jacked Up, I Am The Highway, Dreams, Too Close, Little Black Submarines, Bohemian Rhapsody, Cash Machine, Chasm, A Better Bridge

The Frost’s midrange tuning will make or break your ability to enjoy it. If you’re like me, and have flexible midrange preferences or enjoy warm / linear mids, then the Frost’s tuning will likely suite you. And, personal preferences aside, the itself Frost seems to have a strong preference to music featuring higher-pitched male vocals and female vocals. Deeper vocals don’t benefit as much from the planar driver’s upper-mid lift and can sound deflated, at least to my (V-shaped-accustomed) ears. This is, of course, a common feature of warm or flat midranges, so while this might be what you want, it’s important to understand what you’re buying.

Some songs, like Thrice’s Better Bridge can sound close together and difficult to pierce. This is an artifact of the Frost’s linear mids, and one that would turn-off listeners who enjoy traditionally-tuned midranges. But other male singers like Oliver Tree sound flawless through the Frost. Tracks like Cash Machine and Cowboy Tears sound as through they were the benchmark BQEYZ used for tuning. The Frost captures a healthy amount of vocal texture, very rarely blurring or dropping hints of distortion or grit. On the other end of the mastering spectrum, Bohemian Rhapsody’s careful arrangement or melodies and harmonies posses a floaty-ness that is simply addicting. The bass guitar and piano dance carefully in the background, with the former providing much-needed warmth while the latter adds rhythmic punctuation to the vocals.

Songs used: Moth, Gold Dust, In For The Kill (Skream Remix), War Pigs (Celldweller Remix)

When BQEYZ says that they tuned the Frost carefully, they mean it. Its bass is taught and well-controlled, delivering substance and richness to the lower register without overwhelming the already-thick midrange. Mid-bass and sub-bass are blended organically, delivering punch and rumble as needed.

Do note that the Frost is NOT a bass-head IEM. It has a notable roll of from 50Hz down to 20Hz meaning that, while it does rumble in songs mastered to rumble, it does not do so as a matter of policy. It also is lacking in true visceral punch the way one might find on a FatFreq IEM or the Campfire Astrolith / Trifecta. This is by design, and the Frost’s goal is to give you a respectful, full-spectrum view of your music, not just of the lower register.

The Frost’s bass is flexible, articulating bass guitar notes in Moth with clarity and weight. War Pigs (Celldeweller Remix) is likewise a great listen, as the Frost is capable of resolving a wide variety of bass cues; rolling bass guitar strumming provides a solid wall of sub-bass while electronic instrumentation throws punches of mid-bass in the drop. The Frost maintains separation and shape throughout the entirety of the song — a testament to its control and precision.

Packaging / Unboxing

The Frost’s packaging is fairly standard, but acceptable for its price. It is essentially three layers: An outer color-printed sleeve, an inner display layer that is stored beneath a magnetic flap, and the main chamber that holds the case, cable, and accessories.

Build

Construction Quality

I usually have a plethora of nit-picks with Chi-Fi manufacturers, but BQEYZ has managed to dance around most of them with the Frost’s physical design.


The Frost’s shells are made from CNC’d aluminum, with faceplates built from gently-curved glass. Beneath the glass is an intricate design that pays homage to the Frost’s winter aesthetics.



On the top of the shell you’ll find the 2-pin sockets as well as a rectangular vent for the planar driver. On the inside face of the Frost you can see more vents, though these are used for the dynamic driver.



The Frost’s nozzles are also built from metal and have well-designed lips that secure eartips in place firmly.



After a string of disappointing cables in previous Chi-Fi reviews, I’m actually really pleased with the Frost’s cable. It comes in 3.5mm and 4.4mm flavors, with my unit coming equipped with the former. While not entirely free from cable memory, the Frost’s stock cable is considerably less finicky than some thinner cables I’ve dealt with in the past.

Inside the box you’ll find:

• 1x semi-hard carrying case
• 6x pairs of silicone eartips
• 1x pair of foam eartips

This isn’t the largest selection of eartips I’ve seen at this price point, but it is a good one nonetheless. The included silicone eartips are high quality and feature varied bore diameters.

The carrying case is large enough to comfortably store the IEM, cable, eartips, and a small dongle without crushing anything, which is a major plus. As a nitpick, it would have been nice if BQEYZ could brand their cases without included the (R) on the front, as it looks cheap.

The real only criticism I have with this accessory package is the lack of variety of foam eartips. The included pair is very small and simply doesn’t seal in my ear. I tested some third-party foam eartips and found that they provided me a vastly superior seal. Perhaps including a medium-sized pair of foam eartips instead of small would be a good compromise without going all-in on a full set.

Comparisons

1: Meze Alba ($159)

The Alba is a much smaller IEM, owing to its single-driver configuration. It features a more organic shell design and ultimately is more ergonomics than the Frost. I don’t have any discomfort with the Alba, while I occasionally do with the Frost. That said, the Frost’s deeper nozzles give me significantly better passive isolation.

As for sound, the Alba has a more traditional, cooler tuning. Its midrange is leaner and softer, making it more flexible but less resolving. The Alba has a stronger mid-bass but softer sub-bass, with the Frost rumbling more often and with better control.

Sound preference and ergonomics are the deciding factors here, so your anatomy and ideal sound signature will be key in determining which IEM to choose.

2: Kiwi Ears Canta ($79)

The Canta is literally less than half the price of the Frost, but is still an interesting comparison as the two IEMs share a driver configuration.
The Frost, as one might expect, utilizes more premium materials, has a nicer cable, and has a more spacious case with a wider variety of eartips. This is all baked into its higher MSRP.

Sound-wise, the Canta is V-shaped and very bright. It has a strong planar presence in its upper-register, and by comparison sounds sharp. The Frost has a stronger, weightier vocal presence with a more pronounced mid-bass. Overall balance is better on the Frost, with the Canta’s dramatic treble clearly designed to appeal to treble enthusiasts.

If you really want a planar hybrid on a budget, then at less than half the price, you’ll probably go with the Canta. If you enjoy linear midranges with a warmer tilt and have the cash to spare, then you’ll definitely want to go with the better-tuned, more detailed, Frost.

3: Roseselsa QT-9 MK3 ($159)

These two IEMs are similar in price and are both hybrids, but vary greatly on sound profile. The QT-9 MK3 features a bassy V-shaped sound signature designed to appeal to mainstream listeners, while the Frost’s approach is more nuanced.

The QT-9 MK3 has a traditional midrange with an elevated vocal range and recessed lower-midrange, contrasting the Frost’s warmer and more linear mids. The Frost has an emphasized lower-register, but to a much lesser degree than the QT-9 MK3 which could arguably be described as a bass-head IEM. The Frost has a less-aggressive treble than the QT-9 MK3, and feels more organically-tuned. Both IEMs fetch a similar amount of detail in the mids and treble, with the winner simply being whichever one suites your preferences better.

My personal call between these IEMs is a tie. The QT-9 MK3 costs less and fits better in my ears, while the Frost has a more organic treble and premium materials. The QT-9 MK3 also has a much more pronounced sub-bass rumble, which to me, is a very valuable trait.

Conclusion

The BQEYZ Frost is a solid, well-tuned IEM featuring competitive performance with great build quality. Not everyone will enjoy the Frost’s linear midrange, but those who seek such a sonic feature have historically been stuck with piercing, sharp IEMs. The Frost is a game changer for those listeners and a breath of fresh air for those who are bored with Harman-target IEMs.

Who This is For

• Listeners seeking a linear midrange with a fun treble and solid bass
• Listeners who want something unique and resolving
• Planar enthusiasts
• People who’s favorite color is blue

Who This isn’t For

• Listeners who want main-stream or traditional V-shaped tuning
• Buyers who want a truly-neutral IEM without emphasis or color
• Bassheads
• Buyers with small ears

I want to give the Frost a 5/5. That’s what it scores for my personal enjoyment, but its tuning is polarizing — not everyone is able to enjoy a midrange like this.

BQEYZ, don’t change the Frost’s tuning. It is statement piece, a declaration of skill and vision. And while it could use an ergonomic touch-up, you can never appeal to everyone, especially when it comes to audio.

Thank you for reading, and as always, happy listening!