Disclaimer
*sent to me by Whizzer in exchange for this review. In no way my thoughts are influenced by Whizzer.
I have not seen many people talk about BS1 or perhaps Whizzer doesn't do much promotion and let its product walk the talk instead.
To give you an overview, BS1 is an IEM with an open backed design as claimed by Whizzer to give a better/bigger soundstage(Yes, it does that indeed!!)
Packaging
It comes in a fairly standard box set with a carrying pouch, two types of eartips, one is the Easy Tips(SS20) and a standard eartips, Whizzer is also kind enough to send me another type of eartips for me to try it out, the ET100.
Source
Tidal -> Audirect Beam 3 Pro - BS1 (SS20 eartips)
Ibasso Dx160 -> BS1 (SS20 eartips)
Sound
It is a very relaxed sounding IEM in my opinion. The mids to me are the highlight of this IEM, you can listen to this for hours without feeling fatigue and both the low and highs are well tuned. Let's get into that. Slight warm to me.
Bass
• Bass quantity is just right to my ears
• It has got good texture and controlled bass
• You can feel the sub bass rumble but it is definitely no where near bass head level of course. Very evident in tracks like Why So Serious, that doesn't mean it is lacking, more like it has got enough quantity and quality for you to enjoy the track
• Good slams, fast and tight
Mids
• Vocal is quite forward, not really an issue as its more of a preference
• Both male and female has got good texture and doesn't sound dry
• Sinne Eng's We've Just Begun, plenty of details from the mids and it is so enjoyable using BS1 to listen to this track
• Lower to upper mids transitioning are smooth and doesn't have any kind of weird peak that i can notice
Treble
• The treble on the BS1 is smooth and it has a good amount of air and sparkles, in a way where its not fatiguing to listen to
• Detail retrieval is good, there's a faint sound of a certain instrument that i'm not sure what is it called, BS1 is able to pick it up, on some other IEM where detail retrieval capability is poor, that sound either is not there or muffled
• Not harsh and not sibilant at all
Soundstage/Imaging
As an open backed IEM, it is no surprise that the soundstage is ought to be good. It has good depth and width to my ears.
It is also very 3D sounding to me, in We've just Begun, i feel like i am in the middle of the stage and the vocalist is in front of me and the instruments are playing all around me, like i'm engulfed within it. Its just amazing.
For the price it is asking for, imaging is also above average, instruments can be pinpointed easily. Instruments separation is good and it can be clearly identified and doesn't attempt to over power each other. I normally listen to Slipknot's Duality to test the imaging, if it is bad it will sound muffled especially when the drums are hitting fast and also the guitar is strumming hard. Overall it is very impressive for the price.
Driveability
• It can be powered by pretty much anything, even from your smartphone's 3.5mm jack
• It does benefit from a better source of course
• Does not benefit from amping
Final Thoughts
This is my first time hearing an open backed IEM and BS1 does not disappoint. It is versatile enough to handle any tracks that i threw to it, even EDM(although i generally don't listen to EDM, but i just played a few for the sake of testing). It is very musical and listening to it is very very enjoyable, although it is not an IEM that is very resolving, it is not lacking in detail retrieval either, it is good enough for the price it is asking for. One thing that do annoy me is the cable, it has got the same material as Aria’s and it is very easy to get tangled. This is one of the cons to me. Other than that, all good.
Ain't trying to shill this but i truly think that this is worth your money and time for music lovers. Whizzer is not on a rapid fire mode releasing IEM after IEMs, they certainly take their time to develop something good such as BS1.
I'm giving this a 4/5 based on my setup and listening experience.
*Do take into consideration where you experience might vary due to the setup, however, shouldn't be much of an issue since it sounded good off an Apple Dongle as well :)
Cheers and thanks for your time!
Till next time!
