BQEYZ BQ10 IEMs Review – Relaxed Entry-Level Tone
BQEYZ BQ10 is a $29 USD Entry-Level IEM In-Ear Monitor with a dynamic driver at the core, and with both a 3.5mm jack audio cable and a Type-C cable with a DAC available for purchase. Today we will review the BQ-10 and explore how it sounds like.
Introduction
Some products don’t really belong in our reviews, but I cover them anyways just for the fun of it, and that does include theoretically keyboards and super entry-level stuff, as I am not quite sure how many people read about those. This being said, BQEYZ has been around for so long that they are now a classic company, and their products usually surface and live for long times in the hearts of music lovers. The BQ10 we are reviewing today is one of the cheapest IEMS we ever reviewed, so let’s buckle up and see what they can deliver for that price.
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Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/4pXcyIY
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c3CpggeL
Build Quality – Design
Technically we are looking at a 12mm dynamic driver IEM with a dual cavity for the bass response, with a promised frequency response close to the Harman Curve, a neutral-special sound style. If you’ll be using a smartphone you can default on getting the Type-C version as that comes with a DAC and microphone inside, which is far more premium than the 3.5mm version that does not come with a microphone, and BQ-10 is the kind of IEM that you wear around your ear.
I have to give respect to BQEYZ, as they included a Silver Plated Copper Coaxial cable, while many companies when making a product this affordable would either make a full copper cable or a tinned copper instead of silver plated.
You can detach the cable as they use a standard 0.78mm 2-Pin connector, and BQ10 has a SPL of 113 dB and an impedance of 40 OHMs, so theoretically they should both be easy to drive and to control. One thing to keep in mind though is that it is not mentioned what DAC chip is used at any point in the papers, so that is not an omission on my end due to negligence, but I simply could not find the info on the BQEYZ official product page.
Subjective Usage
Subjective usage is ok, and it is not necessarily a special pair of IEMS as they feel light, hollow, but they are comfortable and offer a medium – low passive noise isolation. I had much pricier IEMs with worse cables, so BQ10 feels nice in this aspect. The cable is flexible enough, IEM shells have a nice comfort to them, although they do not create much seal, and feel like they are falling out of my ears quite often.
You will appreciate the transport case which is a nice bonus considering that much pricier earphones come with none. It feels like those are much much nicer than the price would suggest, but they are a shallow insertion pair of IEMS which for me are the least comfortable as it gives me a bit of anxiety they will fall out of my ears constantly.
Sound Quality
Pairings – Despite their ultra low price point, I have paired the BQEYZ BQ-10 with most of the recent sources I have reviewed, the list including FiiO K17, Argon Audio SA-2 Amplifier Driven by FiiO Warmer R2R, Acer Nitro 18 AI Laptop (with 3.5mm adapters), iBasso Kunlun, FiiO Snowsky Echo DAP, Orchard Audio Valencia driven by Musician Pegasus III and Luxsin X9
They are super easy to drive and will go loud with ease, and also scale a tiny bit with the source. They surely prefer a better source and will sound a bit better with a good source, but don’t splurge too much, for 30 USD earphones. Anything around 100 USD will power them better than sources around 50 USD, yet IU would not go much higher. BQ-10 can be a bit sensitive to source noise, so it is best to try to use them with a DAC that is not known to be noisy.
Overall Signature – BQ10 sounds a bit warm, natural in the midrange, and relaxed in the treble. They are some of the smoother IEMS out there with a pleasing and natural midrange, no oddities and no fatiguing parts in their sound. Compared to most Chifi IEMS, they are as technical as most ~60 USD IEMS are, but sound smoother and warmer, less Chifi in tuning and more bloomy. The whole tuning has a bit of an L Shape, but it is more of a hill that goes down from the bass and it is less present the higher you climb in the frequency range.
Bass – Bass takes a central stage with BQ10, as they are quite deep and bloomy with the bass starting at around 40 Hz. This is quite the achievement for this price range, and it sounds fully, with a big body and a warm tuning. The bass bleeds a bit into the lower midrange, as it has quite a bit of extra body and presence relative to the midrange and the treble.
Voicing And Midrange – Vocal range is generally a bit boomy, inheriting a bit of extra bloom and thickness from the bass, especially having a crossover of extra bass pump between the upper bass and lower midrange. While not gamebreaking, it does give male voices more presence, more weight and presence, and takes away some sharpness and drama from female voices. It works well for certain music styles like rock and EDM, Pop, but works less well for ACG, J-Pop and music songs with a female lead singer.
Treble – BQ10 has less trebwle than it has midrang,e and it already had less midrange than it had bass, but those are mild relative decreases in presence, so they don’t feel just raw basshead, thick or just bloomy, but they are pretty heavy and dark in tuning compared to a purely neutral sounding IEM / Headphone.
Dynamics And Textures – Textures are mostly smooth, with a slight compression effect. This makes the sound feel more detailed, it compresses background instruments into the foreground, but it lowers the size of the soundstage slightly, giving more perceived resolution and lowering the maximum width and depth of the scene. Texture is generally smooth, clean and relaxed with no fatiguing or harsh edges. It is beautiful sounding for most styles.
Loudness Saturation Gradient – At this price point I expected a much higher max distortion and THD, but BQ10 stays clean and controlled regardless of the listening volume, even sounding better a bit louder than they do quieter. The trick is that the driver does have a somewhat higher than medium THD or distortion, but it achieves better control at louder volumes, where the background noise of the source is drowned out.
Soundstage – Stage is a bit on the intimate side with a good and clean instrument separation. While they can be a bit small in staging, it is a good pair of IEMS for EDM, Pop, Rock, even metal. At this price point I cannot complain.
Value – Conclusion
Considering that they cost less than a meal in the city for one, I find that if you can squeeze one year of music enjoyment out of BQ-10, if you don’t trash them too much, you’ll love the experience. They sound warm, smooth and bloomy, a nice combo for an entry-level IEM. They are full and go deep in the bass, a great overall option.
I like when a company can deliver a good experience despite having a low price, and BQEYZ is a reliable company, with all of their IEMS still living in my collection, and although I don’t use each individually that much, I feel like they will live for a really long time for most people.
PROs
- Good comfort
- Nice build quality
- Strong bass
- Warm and thick midrange
- Smooth treble
- Relaxed texture and overall tuning
- Comes with a transport case
- Good cable
Cons
- Intimate soundstage
- Some bass bleed into the midrange
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/4pXcyIY
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c3CpggeL
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Full Playlist used for this review
We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_cjBXGmwSHSdGcwuc_bKbBDGHL4QvYBu
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5J3oloz8Riy9LxEGenOjQ0?si=979ba4f082414be7
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/330fd544-8e5b-4839-bd35-676b2edbb3d5
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