Pros: Build, Aesthetic, Treble, Coherency of drivers and pleasant analytical tuning

Cons: FIT!!, lower mids laid back, Subbass extension (Problem of seal?), Hard to compete in price bracket

Driver Setup: 1BA + 9-Layers Piezoelectric Ceramic + Dynamic Driver

Price: US$170

Intro

Disclaimer: This review set is a demo graciously lent to me by Daniel at Oardio. This review is written of my own accord and all thoughts here are my own. The BQEYZ Summer is available for purchase from Oardio through their website should you find yourself interested in a pair.

After a rather pleasant experience with the Summer, I manage to get the chance to review the earlier-released Spring II, many thanks to Daniel at Oardio Singapore. This is the second iteration of the Spring Tri-brids by BQEYZ and is supposed to fix many of the issues that people experienced with the Spring I. I have never tried the Spring I so I will be approaching this pair with fresh eyes. Without further ado, let’s get right into it.

Accessories and Build Quality (Score: 8.5/10)

Excellent. I love the contrast that the orange/red trimmings have against the matte black aluminium shell. The overall build just screams quality and everything is just so many tiers above what we saw with the BQEYZ Summer. Accessories are just enough to get you going and the selection of tips are decent. However, I still struggled to get a fit with the silicone tips provided.

The stock cable is one of the better stock cables I’ve seen as well and befitting of its price tag. It has quality connectors and Y-splits with pretty thick cores. BQEYZ markets it to have 4 strands hand woven single crystal copper cable with up to 224 cores. This is similar to the FAAEAL Copper Cable that has been touted as one of the best value copper cables. The cable has a 4-wire braid and is also available for purchase on its own in some stores at around US$29.90.

Fit (Score: 6.0/10)

The fit wasn’t great, coupled with the numerous vents on the earbuds, leading to a certain occasional feeling of a loss of seal. The nozzle is a little short. The size of the buds are good and fit smaller ears.  The shape doesn’t sit snugly against the contours of the ears and weight distribution sometimes causes the IEMs to slip out if the tips are not ideal. I have heard that the fit has been a great improvement but I’ve not tried the Spring I so these are my standalone opinions.

Sound (Score: 8.2/10)

Frequency Response Graph of the Spring II

Sources

• Lotoo Paw S1
• Hiby R5
• SMSL M200/Schiit Magnius

Music listened to

• Chicago Symphony Orchestra – Beethoven Symphony 7
• Boston Symphony Orchestra – The Nutcracker Suite
• The Vamps – Cherry Blossom
• Stevie Wonder – In the Key of Life
• Bastille – All This Bad Blood
• The Lumineers
• Paul Kim
• X Ambassadors
• Børns – Blue Madonna
• Gryffin
• Avicii
• Amy Winehouse

Bass

The bass resolution could be improved. Overall, the Spring II is rather bass light. I found myself craving a little more sub-bass extension, to the point that it sometimes made me subconsciously feel I wasn’t getting a good seal. Would prefer a better low end to support the intense upper mids and treble. Otherwise, the quantity of bass leading into the midbass was well balanced, and a good alternative to bassy earphones which seem to have dominated the chifi market.

There is sufficient punch and presence listening to Avicii, so the bass isn’t exactly anaemic, which is great.

Mids

Vocals are very articulate and detailed, presented rather forward without getting too intense or shouty.

Listening to Valerie by Amy Winehouse. The overall sense of space and layering juxtaposed with the brilliant vocals was a joy to listen to. The crisp texture of the shakers in the background was also a nice touch and display of the Spring II’s technical ability.

Instruments like trumpets and Horns have a very nice natural timbre to them. What really impressed me was how smooth the upper mids were and their execution. It nicely dodges all sibilance with no off peaks in the 5-8k frequency regions.

Treble

The lower treble is very present and revealing. The Spring II is not at all forgiving of poorly recorded tracks but also grants that extra edge of detail over cheaper sets. A nice air and space in the upper treble region as it extends very well thanks to the piezoelectric treble. It’s a tad more well done and controlled than the BQEYZ Summer, possibly due to the 7-layer instead of 5-layer in the Summer. It is noticeably less peaky and fatiguing. In fact, I was able to enjoy the Spring II for longer periods at a time.

Overall

The soundstage is relatively broad and while the tuning is rather balanced, it’s is on the brighter side. It is analytical yet not fatiguing and offers a good break from bassy IEMs. However, the

That said, the fit of the Spring II was a real issue for me and I couldn’t properly enjoy it. Tuning wise, I personally would have preferred a more supported lower mids region to support the forward and brighter upper mids and treble. It led to some tracks in my playlist sounding a little top-heavy at times.

Comparison

BQEYZ Summer

Full Review of the BQEYZ Summer

I hate to admit it but the Summer is more comfortable despite the less premium choice of materials. The tuning approach is very different in the Summer and contrasts well with the Spring, playing well into the four seasons theme.

The bass is very much more present, dynamic, punchy in the Summer, so this should help you decide if you’re more of a Spring or Summer person. Or you could get both if diversity is your thing. It takes on a more typical V-shaped tuning. My biggest gripe with the Summer is the treble region, which is a step down from what we saw on the Spring II. The treble on the Summer is rougher along the edges and gets sibilant at times.

Conclusion

The Spring II is a well-tuned tribrid piezoelectric earphone, especially at its release. It’s a little bit of a veteran now and the price bracket it lies in has become increasingly competitive within the last year. With brilliant releases like the Thieaudio Legacy 4, Audio Lokahi and Seeaudio Yume, I find it hard to see the value and make a solid case for the Spring II.

Evaluating it as a whole, it does have a premium build (though not so great fit), with a decent tuning catering to a more analytical crowd. It doesn’t have the most organic tuning nor the most natural timbre. That said, the price is a little steep for what it puts out.

It is, after all, a challenging price bracket to compete within where it’s too expensive to be considered a budget IEM and is considered to be a significant investment. However, it is still not enough to be considered a premium set and doesn’t hit the more competitive price bracket of super competent IEMs with the likes of the Mangird Tea and Blessing 2.

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