BQEYZ CLOUD: Lustrous Like A Sunny Cloud
Clouds are natural formation of aerosols consisting of droplets, ice crystals and other particles that were suspended in the atmosphere on a planet. They are also formed from the saturation of cooled air within its dew point along with formation of moisture from water evaporation from a certain area from the effects of its ambient temperature.
Some of you are quite familiar with the audio brand, BQEYZ as it is one of the well-respected audio companies out there with their unusual and different approach on their products as they keep striving for innovation and pursuit of sonic refinement. For every successive release of their products, there will be a new approach on audio technology that they implemented.
What we have here is their latest model from the Weather series and a second one after the Wind. This is BQEYZ Cloud, it has a dynamic driver with a supporting passive-radiator driver along with an air-assisted circulation system with its inner acoustic cavity.
Its dynamic driver has a 10mm LCP (Liquid Crystal Polymer) diaphragm in a dual chambered array that is known for its strength and reliability to deliver a fast, accurate and clear sound quality. Aside from dynamic driver, it was also assisted with a 6.8mm passive radiator in which BQEYZ coined it as a “flexible auxiliary diaphragm unit” in which used to lessen high frequencies peaks and also act as an air flow regulator that also happens to improve the low and midrange frequency responses while maintaining the stability of its sonic qualifies by improving its bass texture and ambient effect.
The drivers were encased in a CNC-milled aluminium alloy shell structure in a quite compact rounded edge trapezium design. The colour variant I have is black one with a turquoise outline on its sides and it appears that it underwent a sandblasting and anodising process that gives a matte-like finish on its surface. It has two vents, one is on the cavity base aligned with an interchangeable port and the other one is a tiny straight slit that is situated at the bottom part of its faceplate. Like all BQEYZ sets, it uses a proven and stable 0.78mm bi-pin for ease of cable swapping.
With its compact design, this is probably the most versatile among the BQEYZ sets that I've tested in terms of fitting and comfort as it really rests well into my lugholes without any discomfort and also offers a good sealing for better passive noise isolation.
On the entirety of BQEYZ sets since the release of SPRING 1, all stock cables of successive models are of high quality including this set. Its stock cable has a 2-core design consisting of monocrystalline copper wires and silver-plated copper wires to have a consistent signal delivery without any loss during transmission. I find its build quality pretty durable, flexible and resistance against entangling. It has a 3.5mm termination plug on its end and it is gold-plated for corrosion-resistant and better conductivity but upon purchasing, you can choose other options like 2.5mm or 4.4mm depending on your requirement.
On its product packaging, it has a bit elongated rectangular packaging box with a sky blue colour scheme on it along with company logo, model name and short description of its features. The contents are well-arranged inside and it offers a quantifying amount of inclusions.
Here are the following contents inside of its packaging box:
- Pair of BQEYZ Cloud IEM transducers.
- Stock cable
- PU-leather storage case
- Eartips plate holder
- Three (3) pairs of “reference” eartips in different standard sizes.
- Three (3) pairs of “atmospheric” eartips in different standard sizes.
- Pair of memory foam eartips.
- Cleaning tool
- User's manual
The BQEYZ Cloud is quite easy to amplify that a source with a usual normal gain power output will be able to drive this one properly. With a sufficient amount of power output, it will sound dynamically at its full range of its frequency spectrum.
As for its overall tonal quality, it seems that this set has a neutralish-bright sound profile that gives more emphasis on the upper mids to the brilliance part of the treble region.
LOWS/BASS:
My initial impression on its bass quality is that it is quite incisive, precise and it has a tight bass response which gives a clean and well-segregated lows from the other parts of the frequency range. It has a deep and rumbly sub-bass presence as I clearly perceived its reverberations that were generated from low octave instruments like octobasses, synthesisers, low tone bass guitars and drum machines.
As for its mid-bass, despite its supposedly tight presentation, it appears that it has a sufficient texture to give an ample note weight in some instruments and a certain male vocal type. Bass guitars have sustaining yet resonant sound as double bass seems to have similar sound character although it has a bit broader sound while bass trumpets have reverberant sound yet it is quite a bit lacking of fullness. Bass kick drums have these thudding, rumbling and resonant sound on them. And for male vocals like bass and bass-baritones, while they have this inadequate fullness and a darker tone on this type of tuning, this set is capable of producing its rumbling and deep resonant voice.
MIDRANGE:
On how the midrange frequency was presented in this one, it is indeed neutral, almost pristine, a miniscule amount of warmth and quite transparent sounding with good clarity and energy. This type of tuning will certainly give some significance to several types of instruments and vocals on their respective tonal colour.
On how the male vocals sounds like on this one, baritones have a consistently smooth and velvety character on their vocals although on lower baritone pitch like kavalier baritones, verdi baritones, dramatic baritones and noble baritones seems to have lack of depth, less warm and less weight on them. Meanwhile on tenors, they sound quite natural as this set is able to playback that clear, bright and dazzling sound these types of vocals are known for whether it is lyrical, spinto, dramatic and heldentenor albeit the latter has a leaner, less depth and has less darker tone in which should have thick and strong but its just my nitpicking. Countertenors sound pretty excellent on this one as it has a tender, sheen and musky as they convey the emotiveness of their vocals. As for female vocals, contraltos have smokey and ample plushiness from their typical low chesty tone register although I'm yearning for more depth on them. Both mezzo-soprano and soprano vocals are impressive on this one as they are depicted to have a realistic tone and timbre on them as the former has fiery, velvety and glowing sound while the latter has silvery, crystalline and shining that lyrical, soubrette and coloratura types have rich, full and bright timbre as they sounds very open and evocative.
In regards to instruments, on strings, guitars have crisp, good overtones and presence sound on them while violins have vibrant, brilliant and sparking sound on every motion on its bow strings. Brasses like trumpets, trombones, tubas and horns sound brilliant, dramatic, hearty and clear respectively. On percussives, tom-toms have a resonant sound with enough warmth on every stroke, snares drums have clear and hard sound, field/tenor drums have hard and sonorous sound, and then kettledrums have resonant and rumbling on them. As for woodwinds, piccolos have clear and brilliant sound while concert flutes sound relatively silvery and airy, clarinets have expressive and bright sound, and then saxophones have sonorous and lively sound on them. Pianos have a bright tone on their key notes as they have a clear and articulate sound.
HIGHS/TREBLE:
While it appears that it was tuned on brighter tonality due to a noticeable accentuated upper-midrange up to brilliance part of the treble region, it seems that was somehow smoothened a bit to avoid any possibility of stridency and to control sibilance that might detrimental to treble-sensitive folk. That boosted upper-mids up to the presence part of the treble region also gives a more definition on attack of instruments and also a clearer and crisp vocals particularly on female ones.
The brilliance part of treble frequency is quite sparkling with a substantial amount of harmonics along with sufficient airy extension on it. Cymbals have a glistening and brilliant sound while hi-hats have its distinctive shortened buzzing and sizzling sound. Glockenspiels have bell-like and silvery sound and then, celestas have ethereal and bright sounds.
SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING AND OTHER TECHNICALITIES:
The sound/speaker stage projection on this set is quite spacious as it has a wide lateral span, good height reach and depth as it gives me that roomy spatiality within my aural sphere. The stereo imaging seems to emanate a concave-like presentation where I am able to pinpoint the placement of instruments in a well-layered soundscape with excellent separation on them so that playing some complex multi-instrumental tracks will not be an issue on this set.
The coherency performance on a high performance dynamic driver and passive radiator combo is quite impressive that it is able to deliver a fast transient speed response with good details due precise vibrations while passive radiator works well by taming down those unwanted resonance to sound more balanced.
Resolution capability-wise, The Cloud is pretty resolving on both macro-dynamics and micro-detail retrieval as the former have a proper compression on its note weight while the latter one has a sharp, well-defined on extracting some nuances on like roomy effects, vocal ends and other subtleties hidden from pitch black sonic canvas.
PEER COMPARISONS:
LETSHUOER DZ4
- First, in terms of build materials and the implementation of drivers makes the difference between the Cloud and this set. The DZ4 has three micro dynamic drivers along with a passive radiator driver and its shell chassis are made of acrylic resin that is 3D-moulded by HEYGEARS. Both sets have good quality accessories; they are similarly plentiful in terms of quantity.
- Tonality-wise, the DZ4 has a mild U-shaped sound signature that its bass response is quite similar to the CLOUD which also has a precise, tight and clean bass presentation. Midrange seems to have well-balanced and enough texture on it but compared to the Cloud, it is less energetic and a tad warmer. Treble on this one is also quite well-balanced and has smoothness on it with sufficient clarity and sparkle although not quite airy compared to the CLOUD.
- On technicalities, the DZ4 has moderately sound field size on its overall dimensions, a more 3D-like stereo imaging in a well-layered with good instruments and vocals presentation that I am able to locate them precisely. In terms of resolution capability, the macro-dynamics is more resolving on this set than micro-detail retrieval.
SIMGOT EA1000 FERMAT
- Probably the current dominant player in the IEM game, this set is quite similar to the Cloud in terms of implementation and build quality. Like the Cloud, it has a dynamic driver with newly-developed composite dynamic driver with a passive radiator driver and it is also encased in solid aluminium alloy in a mirror-finished surface. The EA1000 has also a feature of having a detachable nozzle as it offers two types of tuning. This set like the Cloud also offers a substantial amount of inclusions but the latter offers a bit better stock cable.
- EA1000 offers two types of sound profiles and all of them are in U-shaped either standard Harman-type of tuning or their own modification on that said target curve. It seems that it focuses more on sub-bass rather than midbass but due passive radiator that is more attuned on the improvement of the overall bass response to have more texture and darker tone. Midrange seems to be a bit more recessed but it has a transparent, energetic and crisper presentation and a more brighter treble response if it was compared to the Cloud that in some tracks particular on female vocals, it has more instances of having a tad shrill my sound that might be more overbearing to soms treble-sensitive folks .
- As for technical capabilities, while EA1000 has a rather a bit narrower compared to the Cloud in regards to overall soundstage dimension but on stereo imaging, layering, separation and driver coherency, they are very similar that they can take a draw on this one. In resolution capabilities, I think that EA1000 is a bit more resolving, especially on micro-detail retrieval as it has a fine sharper definition on extracting nuances and other details from a sonic canvas.
It seems that BQEYZ is definitely trying to improve their product line-up in a very competitive IEM market right now as there will be constant changes on the audio landscape that makes it more unpredictable as they should stay in the game. And this model seems their candidate in that increasingly competitive portable audio market.
I will absolutely recommend the BQEYZ Cloud if you are a neutral head, female vocal lover, analytical type of listener who values detail and high fidelity or has a fondness on tracking some instruments especially on strings, percussives and woodwinds. But I still encourage other types of listeners who prefer a fun and coloured tuning to try this one out as they might develop a liking for this set in the long run as it has a different take on musicality.
BQEYZ Cloud is now available on some online vendor platforms. I'll provide some unaffiliated links below.
★★ BQEYZ CLOUD - ALIEXPRESS ★★
Here are my other reviews of BQEYZ products.
SPECIFICATION:
MODEL: BQEYZ CLOUD
IMPEDANCE: 32Ω
SENSITIVITY: 110dB
FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 7Hz – 40KHz
CABLE LENGTH: 1.2M
PIN TYPE: 2-PIN CONNECTOR (0.78MM)
PLUG TYPE: 3.5mm, 4.4mm, 2.5mm
DRIVER UNIT(S): (1) DYNAMIC DRIVER + (1) PASSIVE RADIATOR MODULE
PROS:
● The shells are quite solid and yet light as this is probably the most compact shell size among the BQEYZ models that I've tested so far.
● The implementation of passive radiator drivers really works that affects the overall sound quality.
● Like almost all BQEYZ products, it is pretty well-accessorised.
● Good quality stock cable
● Three choices of ear tips to choose from.
● Availability of two colours for preferred aesthetics choice.
● A clear, neutral sound profile.
● Sufficient bass presence.
● Clear, energetic and yet ample rich midrange.
● Excellent on tracking to some vocals (some tenors, countertenors, mezzo-sopranos and sopranos) and instruments (woodwinds and strings).
● The treble response has sufficient shimmer, sparkling and quite airy for a single DD with passive radiator module.
● Overall, it has excellent technical capabilities like most BQEYZ sets.
CONS:
● Definitely not for a basshead.
● If you are an audio enthusiast looking for a set with more coloured and fun tuning, this set isn't the one you are seeking for.
● Treble-sensitive folk might find this set a bit intense on their treble response threshold.
TRACKS TESTED: ( * = 16-bit FLAC, ** = 24-bit FLAC, *'* = MQA, '*' = DSD, *'= .WAV)
Alison Krauss -When You Say Nothing At All *
Jade Wiedlin - Blue Kiss**
Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks **
Mountain - Mississippi Queen *
Queen - Killer Queen **
Guns N' Roses - Patience *'*
Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven '*'
Sergio Mendes- Never Gonna Let You Go '*'
Pearl Jam - Daughter **
Roselia - Hidamari Rhodonite *
Assassin - Fight (To Stop The Tyranny)*
Celtic Frost- Visual Aggression *
New Order - Blue Monday *
The Corrs- What Can I do (unplugged version) *
Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Child *
The Madness- Buggy Trousers *
Metallica - Motorbreath **
Mariah Carey- Always Be My Baby *
Destiny's Child - Say My Name *
Malice Mizer- Au Revoir *
Mozart - Lacrimosa *
New York Philharmonic Orchestra - Dvorak- Symphony 9 " From the New World." *
Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold (Sting cover)*
Michael Jackson - Give In To Me *
Exciter - Violence and Force *
Diana Krall - Stop This World **
Debbie Gibson - Foolish Beat *'*
The Sisters of Mercy – Lucretia My Reflection**
Suzanne Vega – Luka **
Lauren Christy – Steep *
Ottoman Mehter - Hucum Marsi *
Diana Damrau - Mozart: Die Zauberflöte*
Type O Negative - Black No.1 *
Felix Ayo - Vivaldi: Presto **
Three Tenors - Nessum Dorma *
Mercyful Fate - Witches' Dance *
P.S.
I am not affiliated to BQEYZ nor receive monetary incentives and financial gains as they provide me a review unit for an exchange of factual and sincere feedback from yours truly.
Once again, I would like to send my gratitude to ELLE ZHOU of BQEYZ for providing this review unit as a loaner unit. I truly appreciate her generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.
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