BGVP P05's Review - Safe and Sound

 

General Info (Packaging/Build/Comfort)

BGVP has been in the community for quite some time and I believe everyone reading this review doesn’t need any further introduction, in case you don’t know them, feel free to read up about them here in this link. I have the P05 with me today, which is their entry level IEM with swappable filter, what makes them different from the usual IEM with swappable filter is that, the nozzle is swappable, to either bass or treble nozzle, on the back of the IEM’s shell, the filter is also swappable, so you may swap around and figure out which combination works best for your library or preference.
The unboxing experience is quite positive, the packaging doesn’t look entry level at all, more like a midrange kind of packaging to me. The wearing style can be over ears or straight down depending on your preference, build quality is very solid as well and it doesn’t feel heavy, hence it is very comfortable wearing it even for long period of time

Equipment and Softwares used

• Earmen Tradutto -> Earmen CH-AMP

• Earmen Collibri

• Hiby R6 II

• Apple Music/Tidal/foobar2k

Foreword

My review is solely based on what I hear via my equipment and I never consider my reviews to be objective in any way rather a subjective approach. Do take into consideration that everyone’s ear anatomy is not the same, so the psychoacoustics perception might be different as well, but i believe it will not stray too far

Sound Impression (Balanced Nozzle (Gold and Red)

Upon first listen on P05, it has got a relatively smooth tuning with plenty of details yet it remains safe sounding and not harsh sounding. Timbre sounds quite natural to my ears. The nozzle is swappable to either bass or treble nozzle, and also the rear filter is also swappable as I mentioned earlier. The default one will be balanced which will be the primary sound impression that i’m sharing now, 

Bass

• Bass is punchy and has good extension to my ears, but not too much to the point where it over power other frequency, adequate amount for the fun factor if you ask me

• Good texture on the bass and the speed is adequate for most genre unless you’re talking about insanely high speed heavy metal, but it is adequate to handle anything you throw at it

• The sub bass does rumble when the track calls for it, but i wouldn’t say it is up to basshead’s expectation, but personally i’m fine with it as it is good enough for my library and preference

• Slight bleed into the mids when the track gets overly complex but it is fine most of the time

Mids

• The mids are neither too recessed nor forward based to my ears, the details in this range are nicely presented

• Both male and female vocal has good enough texture to it, they don’t sound thin       nor very full, good for the asking price i’d say

• The upper mids are never shouty, in fact it’s rather safe sounding, at least to me, as it ultimately depends on the individual’s hearing as well as tolerance

Treble

• P05’s treble is never offensive and yet it doesn’t sound dull and quite musical to my ears, enough energy but never harsh sounding

• Not as revealing in terms of detail retrieval but good enough for the price point, certain instruments can be picked up easily when listening to Hans Zimmer’s Why So Serious

• The treble is never sibilant even when you turn up the volume, or even on some sibilant prone track

• Average air and presence, but if you are a treblehead, feel free to swap the nozzles around to achieve desired sound

Soundstage/Imaging

• The soundstage i’d describe it as slightly out of your head, width is good but not so much on the depth and height, which is expected at such price point and i’m purely nitpicking

• Imaging is good but not exceptional, instruments can be pin-pointed easily and the left and right transition and vice versa is easily noticeable, but it does gets a little challenging for the P05 to handle when the track gets complete

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Driveability

• P05 is not hard to drive, you will be able to push out decent volume from Macbook Air M2’s 3.5mm jack

• It does scale with better source and amplification as with most planars, in terms of dynamic and more controlled bass, and slightly more open sound in terms of soundstage

Sound comparison with different nozzles

Gold+Silver

• On this config, the low end is lifted and due to the seesaw effect, the treble is tamer and less exciting, this in turn made the overall listening experience a little more laidback with slightly more warmth and body

• Soundstage is slightly smaller imaging capability remains more or less similar

• Still it is nowhere near basshead level, but overall very fun sounding

Silver+Red

• This config offers experience which sounds very similar to the stock config (Gold+Red)

• Bass sounds more or less similar all the way to the mids, with the exception the treble is slightly more subdued compared to the stock config, this in turns also affects the soundstage which made it doesn’t sound that airy

Silver+Silver

• The bass performance is very similar to Gold+Silver config, even the mid range

• What i do noticed is that the upper mid is slightly, just a tinge more forward compared to the Gold+Silver, the treble however lacks energy and it just sounds subdued, not entirely a bad thing as this is more of a preference kind of thing, hence the existence of this filters and nozzles which you can customise the sound yourself

Final Thoughts

Given that the P05 is an entry level IEM, the performance that it offers is not entry level at all. Why is that? Because you get to customise the sound you want based on your preference or library with the nozzle and rear filter. There are also some IEM out there that offers the ability to swap out the nozzle but they cost a lot more, not to mention only the nozzle is swappable but not the rear filter, hence it’s pretty impressive that BGVP has done it and introduce it to the community at entry level price point.

At the time of writing, the P05 is priced at 45$ which is fair given the features that came with it. I have no issue recommending this to people who are looking to get their first IEM, seasoned audiophile however might not want to consider this as this will probably serve as a side grade to them.

*The P05 is sent over by BGVP for the purpose of this review, i thank them for the opportunity

Interested in getting a pair, head over to BGVP’s official store to get one:

BGVP P05 - Non affiliated