BQEYZ, yes you heard it right. This time BQEYZ KB1. What is the full form of BQEYZ? may be ‘Best Quality Earphones for Your ….’ Sorry I can do only that far. So its better appreciate their work not their name. ‘Opening the box of a audio gear and giving impression’ sorry I am not that kind of person, people can call me lazy but music and audio gears is like old wine for me and need good amount of time to evaluate so before this review I have given KB1 approximately 50 hours of burn-in.
Specification
- Driver unit – 10 mm single dynamic + 6 mm single dynamic + 1 Balanced Armature,
- Frequency response – 7-40KHZ,
- Impedance – 15Ω,
- Sensitivity – 105 dB / mW,
- Plug – 3.5mm,
- Connector – 2pin 0.78mm,
- Weight – 25±5g.
What’s inside the Box ?
- BQEYZ KB1 earphone itself,
- 3 pairs of Silicone eartips (Wide Bore) (S/M/L),
- User Manual.
Buying Link – Here.
Tracks/ Albums used to evaluate
- Daft Punk – Random Access Memories,
- Ed Sheeran – ÷ (Deluxe),
- Fleetwood Mac – Rumours,
- Fleetwood Mac – Tango In the Night (Deluxe),
- Pink Floyd – The Dark Side Of The Moon (2011 – Remaster),
- Sia – This Is Acting (Deluxe Version),
- The Beatles – Abbey Road (Remastered),
- The Best Of Nina Simone – Nina Simone .
Build & Design
Few BQEYZ earphones share same kind of design but as the design and built is good, I don’t have any complaint against them. KB1 is completely made out of CNC machined Aluminum, yet very light weight. The surface is smooth and no sharp edges are there. No doubt it made to last long.
BQEYZ branding and ‘L’, ‘R’ is present in the face plates for easy identification. My KB1 unit is Black one and non shiny paint on it adding a touch of premium feeling. The half circular design is really great; it can fit in almost any ear. Very comfortable for long listening sessions too.
Three air vents in each side maintaining the air pressure inside the IEM and dust grill also applied in front of the wide but short nozzles. No tip lip is there but don’t worry, tips not going to coming out accidentally because the nozzles are wide enough to hold them tight.
Cable quality is good, 4 cores nicely twisted till Y splitter. It is a detachable 2 pin 0.78 mm cable with L type 3.5 mm plug, soft and no sign of microphonics. A small chin slider, Velcro cable tie and memory foam used for ease of usage. This time my unit is equipped with a mic cable, and call quality of the mic is decent and all types of in line controls working fine with my phone and DAPs.
Source, Comfort, Noise Isolation & Tip Selection
BQEYZ KB1 is only 15Ω and very easy to drive , worked fine with almost all of my sources like Iphone SE, Hiby R3, Sony NW- A46, Cain N3, Fiio Q1 Mk2 & Audioquest Dragonfly .
Comfort and noise isolation is too good once you choose perfect ear tips for you. Supplied tips are good enough. Surprisingly tip rolling also changing the sound of KB1 and most of the time I have used supplied wide bore tips for this review.
Sound
Driver configuration of KB1 is 2 dynamic drivers and 1 balanced armature. 10 mm dynamic driver is used for low frequency, and 6 mm for mids & BA driver for highs. But whatever they are doing it’s pretty much enjoyable.
Bass
As soon as I started listening, it was clear that KB1 is a ‘V’ shaped sounding IEM. The emphasis on lows can be noticed clearly. The bass is rather mid bass, sub – bass section is also pretty good in terms of quantity and extension. The bass is full bodied and you can feel the rumble easily in your favorite tracks. The whole lower frequency section is tight and punchy. The decay is fast and can go deep. Don’t uses narrow bore tips; it will reduce the bass section which is a sweet spot in KB1.
The entire album ‘Daft Punk – Random Access Memories ‘is very much enjoyable with KB1. The song ‘Instant Crush’, with KB1 opens with a great slam and continues to deliver fast and tight bass, which is enough to satisfy any bass lover around.
Mids
Mids have enough clarity but a bit recessed to me. Midrange is crisp and sound extremely natural without any coloration. Vocals don’t sound too distant like conventional v-shaped IEMs. For example the track ‘dive’ by Ed Sheeran sound pretty normal, no sense of holding back is there. The good thing is vocals sound extremely natural and refreshing.
The song ‘I Put a Spell on You’ by Nina Simone is one of my favorite and with KB1 I am missing the texture of her voice but still sound much more cleaner and fresh.
Treble
The BA driver model is not mentioned in the box but for sure it is better than those used in KZ earphones. Another thing after trying few other BQEYZ IEMs, I am pretty sure they using same BA drivers in all other IEMs. With this BA driver BQEYZ played a safe game. Lower frequency is detailed, airy, and well balanced and sibilance nowhere near. Maybe those BA drivers have been chosen carefully to create IEMs that suit most of the audience.
Die heart treble lovers may miss the sparkle in tracks like ‘Special Kind of Love’ by Fleetwood Mac. Treble is much more relaxed still enough for treble sensitive listeners. This relaxed upper frequency also helps KB1 to be Ideal for hours of listening without any fatigue.
Soundstage, Imaging & Instrument separation
Both soundstage and Imaging is surprising for such an inexpensive IEM. Soundstage is not super wide but wide enough to entertain. Imaging is good and every instrument can be clearly identified within the tracks.
The track ‘Here comes the Sun’ from the album Abbey Road, where both guitars and vocals going side by side… you can noticce the vocals in your right ear and guitar on left side ear easily. So for such a low price BQEYZ KB1 performed really well without compromising the soundstage, Imaging and instrument separation.
Conclusion
Chi-Fi IEMs comes and goes but definitely BQEYZ going to hold its ground for long by its superb built quality and enjoyable sound. KB1 deserves those 40$ and in return delivers good amount of sub-bass, natural Mids and relaxed trebles. Kb1 is especially ideal for long listening sessions without any fatigue, so thumbs up from me.
Graphic Designer by Profession, and Music is my hobby. Can’t recall when I had started digging the Audiophile rabbit hole, but this Website was created in 2019 to showcase my passion for music. I am not an Audiophile, I call myself a Music Enthusiasts and my goal is to pass that enthusiasm to my readers.