EPZ Q1 Pro

Disclaimer: I received the EPZ Q1 Pro as a loaner unit for review purpose from a friend, and this is not a review unit. I did not receive any discounts for writing this review. If you decide to buy this IEM based on my review and find that you disagree with the sound or assessment, that responsibility lies with you. I strongly discourage relying solely on a single review for purchasing decisions in the realm of audio quality, as preferences vary. You should conduct thorough research by exploring platforms such as YouTube, head-fi forums, and various Facebook audiophile groups before making a purchase decision.

Gears Used: I have used Cayin RU7 & Hiby R6 Gen III DAP as my sources for this review. And I have used a 3rd party cable, Moondrop LINE T 6N Single Crystal Copper cable and DIVINUS Velvet Silicone Eartips. I must emphasize that my choice of accessories and source might lead to a different sound experience than with stock accessories. As the copper cable relaxes the treble and extends the lower end. Cayin RU7 on Upscale to DSD 64 mode brings a good amount of warmth to the mix, while adding note weight and making the vocals thicker and forward. It also adds more mid-bass extension/punch which in general is missing from the Q1 Pro.



Accessories:

EPZ Q1 Pro

Soft carrying pouch

Standard selection of ear tip, 3 pairs of generic silicone ear tips (S, M, L)

3 pairs of generic silicone ear tips (S, M, L)

4-core Single Crystal Copper Wire

I found the accessories included in the box are somewhat generic and sub-par. I would have preferred an option to choose between 4.4/2.5/3.5 mm termination cable even if including a modular cable in the box was not possible. The included ear tips & pouch feels very cheap, sems like they provided these just for the sake of it, no effort to include better quality accessories was made from EPZ side, even the overall packaging quality felt cheap as well.



Sound Evaluation

Tuning: The EPZ Q1 Pro has a Harman inspired tunning and sounds neutral-bright overall. It’s a mid-centric sound profile but not sounding too thin or dry but rather more musical. As typical of the Harman tuning there is more of an emphasis on sub-bass and upper-treble.

Highs (3.5/5): The lower treble is well extended with the Q1 Pro while the brilliance part of the upper treble is somewhat lacking. Don’t expect too much air or sparkle in the brilliance region but overall treble is energetic and this is not a laid-back set. The treble is non-fatiguing and retains a smooth characteristic, this set is a safe choice for the treble sensitive folk.

Mids (4.0/5): The mids are definitely the high-light of the show, it has a clean presentation and maintains good resolution. The upper-mids takes precedence over the lower-mids. This is a very vocal forward set, but doesn’t get sibilant or shouty at any point. Paired with my Hiby R6 Gen III DAP, which is a neutral-bright source the Q1 Po did lack note weight and vocals sounded slightly thinner & harsher. But pairing the Q1 Pro with my Cayin RU7 using DSD 64 up-sampling mode, the note weight sounded denser, mids sounded thick and lush. Like most Harman tuned sets the Q1 Pro does female vocals masterfully while male vocals do lack body. Overall, a very enjoyable presentation while maintaining a natural timbre for instruments.

Bass (3.5/5): The EPZ Q1 Pro definitely isn’t a bass shy set but it neither is for bass-heads. Sub-bass has good extension and you can feel the rumble when it’s called for in the more bass heavy tracks. Mid-bass rolls off early and definitely lacks punch, but this again can be mitigated using a source like Cayin RU7 which adds to the mid-bass extension making it more pronounced in the mix. Overall, the bass has good texture and its speedy so bass quality is satisfactory for the asking price.

Technicalities (3/5): The Q1 Pro isn’t a very resolving set or it isn’t a master of detail retrieval but the good news is that EPZ hasn’t artificially boosted the treble to create an illusion of more resolution when really it isn’t there. Layering and imaging is just about average, soundstage gives more of an in your head impression rather than a wide holographic feeling. But using RU7 does boots the width of the soundstage compared to other sources. There aren’t a lot of micro-details or nuances being highlighted by the Q1 Pro, the tuning clearly leaning to a more musical aspect rather than the technical one.


Comparisons:

Moondrop Kato: I have tested this set in the past quite extensively so this comparison is solely based off of memory as I do not own the Kato right now. Given my personal preference I definitely prefer the Q1 Pro over the tuning of the Moondrop Kato, the Kato sounded more artificially boosted in the upper-treble, vocals sounding more shouty. Bass on the Kato is more rolled off, it felt the mids were overshadowing the bass and the treble. Note weight sounded thinner and dryer on the Kato and the overall tuning was noticeably brighter compared to the Q1 Pro. The saving grace of the Kato is its better upper treble extension with more air and sparkle in the brilliance region without sounding too harsh or fatiguing, also offering much better resolving capability and picking up more micro details compared to the Q1 Pro. Imaging and layering is also superior on the Kato. Given their price difference its no surprise that Moondrop Kato is pulling ahead in some aspects but overall, I prefer the fun and more musical sound of the Q1 Pro rather than the more analytical nature of the Kato.

Simgot EA1000: This again is not a fair comparison given the price difference, but as both are Harman tuned/inspired I wanted to a short comparison between these two sets. The EA1000 is significantly brighter and boosted in the upper-mids region, leading to more shouty vocals. Between the 3 sets, EA1000 has the shoutiest vocals which needs to be tamed with a warm source. Just like the Kato, EA1000 sounds more brighter, analytical and has a thinner note weight compared to the Q1 Pro. But the EA1000 absolutely destroys the Q1 pro when it comes to resolution, micro-detailing imaging, layering etc. It’s the technicalities champ although the upper treble region of the EA1000 sounds more artificially boosted to me and instruments do have a more natural timbre on the Q1 Po. Bass on the EA1000 is definitely better compared to the Q1 pro, mid bass has better extension while sub-bass rumble feels a bit rolled off, but the texture, the speed and resolution of the bass is clearly superior.



Conclusion: For $37 the EPZ Q1 Pro is a fun and musical sounding Harman set, which is definitely rare. If paired with the right set it scales quite nicely and if you are willing to invest in a good aftermarket cable & tips this can really bring out the potential of this IEM. However, those looking for a more analytical and more technical listen should look elsewhere. Q1 Pro provides excellent price to performance ratio and I wouldn’t mind recommending this one to the more budget oriented audiophiles.

★ Introduction :-


EPZ is a fairly new Chinese brand that has been widely discussed for manufacturing excellent audio gear in the affordable price category. A few days ago I posted a review of their dongle dac. Today I'm back with a review of their entry level IEM Q1 pro. I bought this IEM from Ali Express just to see if its hype is justified. I will try to highlight all aspects of this IEM in my review. So that it is convenient for you to understand how equitable it is for this price category.

★ Disclaimer :-

I purchased EPZ Q1 Pro IEM from their Ali express store (EPZ). I had no financial agreement with them to promote their product.The entire opinion of this review is completly my personal.


★ Box Content at a Glance :-

The unboxing experience of Q1 pro was similar to the entry level IEM's. All kind of accessories were present out of the box. EPZ has no room to complain in this regard.

1. A pair of Q1 pro IEMs.
2. Three pairs of eartips of different sizes.
3. very simple carrying pouch.
4. Decent 3.5mm copper cable.
5. User manual guide.



★ Specifications :-

~ Driver :- 10MM dual cavity dual magnetic circuit PU+LCP Liquid crystal molecular dome diaphragm.
~ Impedance :- 32Ω@1kHz
~ Sensitivity :- 110db(±1db)@Vrms
~ Distortion ratio :- <0.5%(@1khz,100db)
~ Frequency response :- 20Hz-20Khz
~ Connector :- 2-pin 0.78mm
~ Cable type :- 4-core LEONI single crystal copper cable with 3.5mm gold plated jack.
~ Cable Length :- 1.2m


★ Design, Build & Comfort :-


The Q1 Pro's shell is made entirely of EPZ's customized 3D printed resin. As it is very lightweight and fits very comfortably in the ear. So it will fit pretty well in everyone's ears, The resin build quality can't be called cheap in any way to me, Although fingerprints remain on the glossy shell it is not obvious. Even if it's an entry level IEM, it never looks like that. Starting from its packaging & the accessories that came with it were also worth appreciating.

Stock cable & 3 pairs of different size eartips were also quite good. The quality of the tips is not very premium, but it is quite soft and seems to be quite usable as stock eartips. Anyone can comfortably spend a lot of time on this IEM. It is undoubtedly ideal for traveling or outdoors. I listened to it continuously for about 3 hours and never felt disturb to the sense of ear balance. Among its most positive aspects, its comfort section will be at the forefront.That's why I enjoyed it for long time.

On the otherhand the stock 3.5mm 4-core LEONI single crystal copper cable was durable, although it creates a bit microphonics sometimes, but this cable does not hampers sound quality. Due to the occasional twisting habit of this cable, EPZ has added a nice locking strap bracket to prevent it from tangling. The cable quality not the best but as a stock cable there is no chance to room complain.

★ Sound signature :-

Q1 pro is basically harman or "V" shape tuned set that is budget friendly. The internal configuration of this set has single dynamic drivers which handle the entire sound frequency. The tuning of this IEM is fun & engaging also tonality was neutral in a word. It is safe to say that I did not get any listening fatigue from its sound. I've used stock eartips as well as aftermarket eartips during the sound testing period and it makes a good difference between fit, comfort, isolation and sound. I used Spinfit Cp145 & Kbear 07 eartips which gave me good experience. However, stock eartips do not give bad performance, so listening can be done with them in the initial condition. Since this is a set of "V" shaped tunings, there is naturally more bass and treble emphasis and the mids are a little behind, There is no exception here.


★ Gears used :-

1. Cayin Ru7 (Se & Bal both)
2. Quloos Mc01 (Se & Bal both)
3. Epz Tp50 (Se & Bal both)
4. Fosi Audio Ds2 ~ 2024 (Se & Bal both)

I also tested these by plugging them into the earphone port of my redmi note 12 smartphone.

Epz Q1 pro is a set of 32ohm impedance whose sensitivity level is 110db so no powerful amplification is needed to drive it, but if a good quality dac amp or portable player is used, then it gets scaled up with the source and becomes a bit better sounding.

Now I will discuss the sound in detail, I will start with the Low end of this set, i.e. the bass.....

★ The Bass :-

The Q1 Pro is basically a bit sub bass focused but doesn't get enough rumble. On the other hand, the presence of mid bass was relatively less due to which mid bass punch & texture was not found well. Mid bass character seems to be crippled, at the same time, the delivery of the bass notes can be said to be on the slower side. The lack of bass speed, attack & decay has greatly reduced the enjoyment of the bass section, also the sub bass is slightly disturbing in some tracks. Can be said to have given somewhat disappointing bass performance. Overall, It cannot able to give complete satisfaction to anyone whether they are bass head or non bass head. So the bass performance will be considered as the down side without a doubt.

★ The Mids :-

The appearance of the mid section seems to be quite clean. Upper mids were more forward and even noticed a tendency to become a bit energetic at a times,Female vocals seem more shouty & male vocal somewhat thin . Which is basically more in stock cable but I didn't notice much this problem in upgradable cable. On the other hand, the lower mids were a bit thin which could be considered recessed, I noticed a slight sub bass bleed with the lower mids which aggrieved the quality of midrange tonality. But not too much bother wthout extreme mids lover, this thinner mids will not cause a big problem and can be enjoyed fairly well.

★ The Treble :-

Treble section was a bit bright but i didn’t get any aggressiveness , can be said that it was fairly smooth. Detail retrieval is also clean, but I found a little sibilance on some tracks. Although the lower treble is fine, but the upper treble does not seem to be extended enough, so the full energy and sparkle of the treble cannot be obtained from here. Hopefully this won't cause too much of problem except for very treble sensitive people.However, if it is used in a warm sounding source, there is no sibilance in the treble, then almost everyone can enjoy its treble.

★ Technicalities :-

The staging & imaging of this IEM was below average as the other competitors in this price category, could not offer anything special in technical aspect. Its sound stage was a little on the intimate side, i mean out of the head type presentation. I found the depth of the stage to be good. At the same time, imaging & stereo separation are fairly good. The placement, positioning and layering of instruments are slightly ahead of the average. The macro & micro details were quite lean which is normal to get from an IEM of this entry budget category, So there is no chance to make a big complaint.

Overall rating out of 5 is what I would give

Bass : 3/5
Mids : 3.8/5
Treble : 3.5/5
Technicalities : 3/5
Build & Astheatics : 4/5


★ Conclusion :-

Various chifi brands are launching their IEMs in the affordable price category which has created a very competitive market. Many people are interested in entry level IEMs who are looking for single dd IEMs for regular usage and think about comfort so that they can be used for a long time, I think Q1 pro will be more suitable. Considering its design, light weight build & overall sound performance, So it is not far behind its competitors. If someone is not very treble sensitive and does not give priority to gaming then I can easily recommend it to them.




I've provided purchase link below for everyone's convenience

1. EPZ official store (Ali express) link isn’t affiliated.

2. EPZ Q1 Pro ( Hifigo ) EPZ official store (Ali express) link isn’t affiliated.

thaslaya's star rating system:
☆☆☆☆☆ - Fantastic!
☆☆☆☆ - Highly recommended
☆☆☆ - Sound for thee, not for me
☆☆ - Can't see the appeal
☆ - Product is a failure

Disclaimer:
This set was provided by EPZ in exchange for my honest and impartial review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Gear used:
●LG v30+
●Samsung Galaxy s22 Ultra
●Samsung dongle
●Hiby FC4
●Kiwi Ears Allegro

Source:
●Listening was done through Amazon Music HD or Ultra HD.

Introduction:
EPZ Audio is a Chinese based company that produces a variety of audio products including iems, cables, TWS, and even DAC/amplifiers. The Q1 Pro is one of their newer offerings, debuting earlier this year. It sports a single LCP+PU 10mm dynamic driver and retails for $37 but can be found on sale for ~$30. The ultra budget tier is growing everyday and it's becoming harder for companies to set themselves apart. I'll break down what the Q1 Pro offers and see if their value holds up against the competition.

Build, fit, ergonomics:
The EPZ Q1 has a very good build quality, especially for their price. The shells are made of 3D printed solid resin with a very attractive hand painted blue faceplate. The nozzle is metal and feels sturdy although for me I would have liked it to be longer for a slightly deeper insertion. The form factor is very small and ergonomically shaped and should fit most ears well. The quality of the stock cable is just okay; it's a little too thin and gets somewhat unwieldy after the split. The accessories are pretty sparse as there are only 3 sets of silicone tips and a small carrying bag inlcuded. I found that the Dunu S&S tips worked best for me to get a deeper insertion and seal.

Sound impressions:
The tuning profile for the Q1 Pro is closest to the Harman target. The soundstage is average for the price but is limited due to the lack of treble extension. Technical performance is not great as it's lacking in micro dynamics and details; however, this set is geared towards being more musical than detailed. The timbre is mostly correct but can sound a bit artifical on certain tracks. The note separation is good and frequencies mostly stay in their own lanes. The note weight is on thinner side and I would have prefered it to be a bit thicker for more warmth. They are easy to drive and can get to loud volumes with just a simple dongle but they do benefit from extra power. For me, I found that they paired best with the Kiwi Ears Allegro.

●Lows - Bass is not the focus of the Q1 Pro's tuning. There is more sub bass presence over mid bass. I personally would have liked more mid bass for a meatier punch and thump and more overall cohesion. The sub bass extension is adequate for the price but they do lack some low end rumble. The bass is fast with quick decay and doesn't overstay its welcome. As it stands, they are free of any bass bleed leaving the mids open and free to stand on their own.

●Mid - The upper mids are boosted leading to a more forward vocal presentation. The timbre is mostly natural and organic but I did find some intermittent unnatural quality to vocals and instruments alike on some tracks. It just sounds a bit thin and artifical at times but not enough to distract from the overall enjoyment of most vocal performances. At high volumes they can start to get a litte fatiguing due to a slight harshness on "s" and "sh" notes on some tracks.

●Highs - Since the overall tuning leans warm, the treble extension is not great and they roll off a bit early. Although I would like more air up top, there is still enough sparkle for the highs to have a good presence. To be honest, they sound overall blunted, and a bit lackluster in quality and quantity. But in doing so, they stay free of troublesome notes like splashy cymbals, hi hats, snares, and claps. Trebleheads will not be happy with the quality found here but those that are sensitive (myself included) won't find much to complain about.

Summary:
At the current price of $37, the EPZ Q1 Pro is a solid contender in the ultra budget tier. This set doesn't really do anything wrong but neither does it do enough to set itself apart from some of the heavy hitters in the same price bracket. They have a better build quality and cable than the 7Hz Zero 2, but are also more expensive. The tuning is much more relaxed than the Simgot EW200, but also not as detailed. The inoffensive tuning will please most but bass/treble heads will need to look elsewhere. The thing that the Q1 Pro has over some other similarly priced sets is the solid, lightweight build quality. The inclusion of better accessories would have elevated the overall value and pushed it to a higher rating. As it stands, I think the Q1 Pro are best suited for those looking for a relaxed tuning with an attractive, well built shell. They would be great as a daily driver for commutes or an extra set to keep at the office.