APEVOIX GRIT: Another Affordable Set With Bone Conduction Driver
It's quite a surprise that in late 2024, there were some releases of IEM earphones with a multi hybrid or tri-brid driver configuration with a contact-type bone conduction driver. I have tested some sets with different types of conduction driver from entry-level up to the top-of-the-line flagships and it happens that I owned some of these units.
The product that will be featured here in this review article is the inaugural model from a recently established audio company in mainland China, APEVOIX (pronounce as Ah-pe-voice) which is somewhat a portmanteau of Apex and Voice as it shows that this company has a knack of being creative on branding. Apevoix has a goal and mission that it will be solely dedicated on providing a high quality audio equipment that enables every music lover or audiophiles alike to experience a refined, detailed and realistic sound quality that incorporates the latest audio technology at reasonable price as they have some veteran audio engineers, designers and with some support of an experienced audio enthusiasts that ensure an utmost quality of their products and a proper implementation of some of the latest audio technology for better sound quality.
What we have here is their introductory model, the APEVOIX GRIT. This set has a hybrid driver set-up that comprises three types of drivers; a dynamic driver, balanced armature driver and a contact-type bone conduction driver. The single dynamic driver that was implemented here is a 10mm one with a strong neodymium magnet structure with a paper-cone composite diaphragm that handles the low frequency for firmer, deeper and impactful bass response, while its four “customed” balanced armature drivers which were source from either E-audio or Bellsing will be responsible for the rest of frequencies, for a natural, articulate and clear midrange and highs for an accurate and detailed sound reproduction of vocals and instruments in conjunction with an 11mm contact-type bone conduction driver which adds more ambiance on its overall presentation as it adds more reverb on the ultra low frequency and richly textured high frequency via air conduction and transmitting through cartilage contact. All of the drivers are connected with a four-way active electronic crossover for better separation, detailed and perhaps, to sound more balanced.
The drivers along some of its components were encapsulated in a medical-grade resin shell which is quite hypoallergenic to minimise any possible allergic reaction during skin contact. The shell chassis itself are quite on a larger side to accommodate those drivers, thin wirings and other tiny components on its internals and it has some vent holes that acts as an escape outlet for excessive amount air pressure that were generated by high-performance dynamic driver and to some extent bone conduction to lessen ear fatigue and occlusion effect during long listening session. We can definitely feel that it has a bone conduction driver by tapping lightly the shell chassis and it will produce that springy and popping feedback. The Grit uses a 0.78mm bi-pin connector as its interlocking mechanism for its detachable cable.
Regardless of its size, the shell chassis itself offers a very comfortable wear as it fits well into my lugholes without any discomfort at all even in my long listening session that takes some few hours. It seals well into the outer ear canal and gives a good passive noise isolation that is able to block some external noises from the outside surroundings.
The quality of its stock cable is quite commendable despite that it doesn't have a modular termination plug feature which is relatively more prevalent nowadays for analogue audio input that most modern hi-fi devices have. It has an ample stocky 4-core high-purity silver-plated copper cable that has some PVC insulating sheath on each thread with a gold-plated 3.5mm termination plug on its end. The overall build quality is quite pretty solid and there's not a hint of microphonic effects that were produced within.
As for product packaging, APEVOIX presents a quite different approach on how it packed the Grit as it makes this set more environmentally-friendly as it tries to lessen paper waste by discarding the packaging box. The pelican-like plastic storage box itself serves as the packaging box with IEMs and the other contents were placed inside in an organised manner. But for over $200/£150, this one is rather minimalist in terms of quantity of inclusions.
Here are the following contents that we can find inside of its storage case:
- Pair of APEVOIX GRIT IEM transducer aural pieces.
- Stock cable.
- Three (3) balanced bore silicone ear tips in different standard sizes.
- Pair of memory foam ear tips in different standard sizes.
This set is relatively sensitive as it can be amplified by sources with a normal gain mode but here's another catch, this one also scales pretty well on other sources with higher power output like DAPs, Headphone amp dongles and desktop as it sounds more dynamic and fuller.
As for its tonal profile, the APEVOIX GRIT has a U-shaped sound profile with a balanced-warmish tonality on it. It has more prominent lows and high frequencies on its overall sonic outline.
LOWS/BASS:
This set delivers a punchy, impactful and firmness of its bass response with a reverberating and rumble end on how it presents a balanced bass presentation from a clear sub bass presence and a well-textured mid bass section. The bone conduction driver does add some texture and energy as it enhances its vibration on the lowest end of its frequency spectrum to give that atmospheric-vibe.
On its sub bass presence, it has that deeper reverberation and rumble that were generated from certain types of instruments like low-tuned strings like bass guitars, double-basses and octobasses, drum machines and synthesisers. The mid bass has a sufficient texture as it gives more dense and solidity on the bass-clef instruments’ and deep male vocals’ note weight. Bass guitars have a sombre and sustaining sound while double-basses have more weight and resonating sound from its plucking and bowing. Bass kick drums have a full and rumbling sound, and male vocals like the basses and bass-baritones, they have those deep resonating voices with ample fullness to sound gravelly and dusky.
MIDRANGE:
While the midrange presentation of this one is a bit on a trough position on the overall frequency range, it doesn't sound too lean that might affects the texture of a tonal colour quality on male vocals and brasses but rather it sounds quite balanced with smoothness and warmth on this certain part of this frequency section. Another thing that I observe is that it also gives some clarity and a bit of sheen on females vocals and also, a lucidity and crispness on some instruments like strings and woodwinds.
The quality of vocals on both genders seems to sound quite natural and detailed as the male vocals have that heft while the female ones have an ample energy and expressiveness on them. On male vocals, baritones have warm and lush sound from their voices while tenors have a rich, warm and suppleness which is more ideal on spintos and dramatic tenor types, and then countertenors have tender, sweet and lithe sound from their falsettos. Meanwhile, on the female vocals such as contraltos, mezzo-sopranos and sopranos, contraltos have that plush and smoky sound from their chesty vocals, a velvety and golden sound on the mezzo-sopranos and a full, creamy and rich with more forceful and emotive sound on the sopranos which are quite suitable on spintos and also for dramatic sopranos.
As for instruments, on the strings, guitars have a midrange-y sound which has more buttery and enough crispness on every strumming and plucking on its note strings, a mellow and rounded sound on cellos, and a sweet and sensuous sound on the violins. On the brasses, trumpets sound substantial and full while trombones sound solid and brassy and then, horns have a sonorous, tempestuous sound yet taut. Moreover, on woodwinds, concert flutes sound rich but a bit more mellow, piccolos have graceful albeit dullness on its sound, clarinets have that warm and melodic sound and saxophones certainly have a mellow and sonorous sound on them. In addition regarding percussives, tom-toms have a warm and resonant sound while the snares sound hard and snappy, field drums sound sonorous and kettledrums have velvety and round sound on every stroke.
Piano appears to have a rich and mellow sound on its note for every pressing on its keyboard.
HIGHS/TREBLE:
The treble quality on this one seems to be more on the lustrous side of sound as it has smooth and even sound with sufficient vivacity on it. While it is not the the most well-extended airy treble presentation nor the clearest one in terms of details, its sheen nature will be enough to give the clarity and definition on the articulation of vocals and the intensity of attack on its instruments without worrying on sibilance, piercing and strident sound.
As I mentioned a while ago that its brilliance is rather sufficient for the presence of the harmonics and the sparkle seems to be adequate that I can classify it as neutrally audible. Cymbals sound lustrous and undulating while hi-hats have dull and dry sound on its chick sound. Glockenspiels have those sheen sound albeit a bit dampened and soft and celestas sound mellow and velvety.
SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING & OTHER TECHNICALITIES:
The overall technical performance of this one is somewhat of a miscellany as it has its strong points and also some its limitations. The sound/speaker stage of this one is more of an average size as it has middling width on its lateral span, but it has a good height reach and depth on it as it gives me a fairly medium-sized head room.
While its stereo imaging presents a typical a two-dimensional stereo presentation instead of a three dimensional, atmospheric one but it has some good layers of tones and frequencies from vocals and instruments with some enough separation on each of it in a soundscape in which I was able to distinguish its cues on a perceived spatial auditory. In this regard, this one can play some complex multi-instrumental tracks like jazz and symphonic orchestra recording but with some slight constraints like some instances of congesting sounding on its playback.
On its resolution capabilities, it seems that it's more solid macro-dynamics with an acceptable micro-dynamics performance as it is capable on highlighting the varying degrees of loudness and quietest notes on both chorale and instrumentals passage, while the latter seems to extract a decent amount of micro-details like grains and nuances in which able to exhibit the vocals ends, reverb tails and notational textures but not that sharpest definition. The cohesiveness of its three drivers configuration seems to deliver a good transient response for its bass speed and the clarity and detail on midrange and treble without any phasing issues nor distortion at all.
PEER COMPARISONS:
BQEYZ WIND
- It has hybrid driver set-up and unlike the GRIT, it has a metal shell earpiece.
- This unit has a contact-type copper-coiled bone conduction driver for bass frequency that was also paired with an LCP-diaphragm dynamic driver for the rest of the frequency sections.
- The drivers were encased in an aluminium shell chassis in a semi-open back design.
- This one is fully packed with a quantifying amount of accessories like more choices of eartips and a high quality stock cable.
- The sound signature of this set has a warmish-neutral tuning on them as it has more balanced bass quality with satisfying rumble and punchy response, a textured, well-balanced neutral midrange that makes it versatile on vocals and instruments, and a smooth and lustrous treble response with just a modest amount of airy extension.
- Like all BQEYZ sets, this one is pretty competent in the technical capabilities department, from a spacious sound/speaker stage, atmospheric stereo imaging with good layering and separation, and also pretty resolving on resolution capabilities.
BQEYZ WINTER
- The first BQEYZ product that employs a bone conduction driver technology on its hybrid driver set-up in a metal shell casing. (BQEYZ loves metal material on their flagships)
- Unlike the newer models that also have a bone conduction driver, it uses a piezoelectric type of bone conduction driver which serves as a supporting transducer for the larger 13mm dynamic driver which handles the bass section.
- The drivers were then housed in an aluminium alloy shell chassis just like all flagship BQEYZ models.
- As expected for a BQEYZ product, this one is quite well-loaded with accessories like eartips and a high quality stock cable.
- This one has a tuning of a balanced-neutral sound profile as it has a rumbly, incisive and firm bass response, a neutral yet well-balanced midrange with a transparent and clean and detailed presentation on its vocals and instruments, and a clear and delineating treble with good amount of airy on it.
- This one like all BQEYZ sets, also has very impressive technical performance like more roomy head stage, a holographic stereo imaging presentation with a well-layered soundscape with good separation, and a quite very detailed resolution capability especially on its micro-dynamics aspect as it has that sharp definition to emphasis some nuances and subtleties from a played-back track.
PULA 114 ANVIL
- This model is most likely the main rival of the GRIT on how their features and aspects were pretty similar and both of them have resin shell earpieces.
- Like the GRIT, this one also has a tri-brid driver configuration consisting of one dynamic driver, one contact-type bone conduction driver and four “custom” balanced armature drivers.
- It also has a large and chunky resin shell chassis to accommodate its six drivers on its internals.
- Compared to the GRIT, this one has more quantity on its included accessories like more types of ear tips and a better stock cable which has a modular termination plug feature.
- This set also has a U-shaped sound profile like the GRIT but it has a bit more tactile bass response, an ample warmth and rich midrange presentation and a tad brighter but similarly modest air presence on its treble response.
- As for its technical capabilities, compared to the GRIT, this one has a bit wider lateral span on its sound field dimensions, a more atmospheric stereo imaging presentation with good layering and separation on its soundscape, and a tad better macro-dynamics capabilities as it can retrieve more micro-details.
Nowadays that in a $200/£140 price point, you will get a good tri-brid IEM with a bone conduction driver in an attractive-looking good build quality shell chassis as this particular driver set-up usually dwells on the high midrange and high-end flagships models but Apevoix was able to bring it to the lower yet reasonably priced segment. While there are some needs of refinement like tonality, slight improvements on its technical performance and adding some more choices of ear tips, the overall unboxing experience of this one is indeed a refreshing one as it was able to lessen some wastage. While this one is quite coloured on its overall sound profile as I’m an ardent neutral head but its overall execution is pretty good, I hope the Apevoix will release a better set in the near future.
APEVOIX GRIT is exclusively available on LINSOUL, check out the unaffiliated link below that I’ve provided.
LINK: https://www.linsoul.com/products/apevoix-grit
SPECIFICATION:
MODEL: APEVOIX GRIT
IMPEDANCE: 16Ω
SENSITIVITY: 107dB
FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20Hz – 20KHz
CABLE LENGTH: 1.2m
PIN TYPE: 0.78 2-PIN CONNECTOR
PLUG TYPE: 3.5mm
DRIVER UNIT(S): (1) DYNAMIC DRIVER, (1) BONE CONDUCTION DRIVER , (4) BALANCED ARMATURE DRIVER(S)
PROS:
● Its shell is quite of a high quality and also a hypoallergenic one
● Despite its large size, it offers a comfortable fitting and an excellent passive noise isolation.
● Attractive-looking design on its faceplate that exudes elegance and sophistication.
● A good quality stock cable as one of its inclusions.
● A large, sturdy pelican-like storage case.
● It has coloured sound profile for an audio enthusiast that is looking for a fun and engaging tuning.
● Rumbly, punchy and tactual bass response.
● Warm, lush and rich midrange presentation.
● Excellent for tracking on male vocals and also on female ones, especially contraltos
● Smooth and balanced treble response.
● Good layering and separation.
● It has quite solid macro-dynamics on rendering a varying loudness level.
CONS:
● Not a neutral sounding, therefore cannot recommend it to neutral heads.
● Its stock cable doesn't have a modular termination feature as its main rival set has it.
● Average soundstage size.
● From a treble head’s perspective, this one is lacking a shimmer and airy extension.
● Not the best on micro-detail retrieval.
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 APEVOIX 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 TEAM LINSOUL or providing this review unit. I truly appreciate their generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.
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