HiFi Mai Tai

There are two things you need to know about the QoA Bijou. Firstly, its named after a cocktail (Has the HiFi Mai Tai stamp of approval). And secondly the QoA Bijou is blue. Very Blue. If you like blue then this IEM could certainly be the one for you and if you don’t well maybe (just maybe) it can win you over to the blue-side with its sound. Lets get to it. Lets get into the Bartenders QoA Bijou Review.

QoA Bijou Review – The Cocktail:

For only £51 this is an interesting driver configuration. For a start its a tribrid. Just as every cocktail should be (No mixers here. Only cocktails). Personally, I am always a little wary of a single BA. I always find myself wondering if it can cope. I suppose that really depends on what it is being asked to do. In the case of the QoA Bijou it is not clear exactly what each driver is meant to be doing. Well its not clear exactly what the Bone Conduction driver is meant to be doing. The dynamic driver for the bass and the BA for the highs is pretty typical. But a bone conduction driver to, and I am quoting, ‘expand the soundstage and spatial presence for precise instrument positioning and an open, natural listening experience’. What does that mean the driver is actually doing? Hey that’s my question. I need answers too. Well sort of. I don’t know exactly what the bone conduction driver does but ‘expanded soundstage and spatial presence’ is definitely going to be a key focus of this review.

The rest of the specifications are fairly typical. It even feels nice to have an IEM with a frequency response that restricts itself to only what humans can hear. I certainly don’t see the appeal of IEMs for dogs. Although now that I have said I am already preparing my elevator pitch for the Dragons Den (some people won’t have a clue what I am on about).

The specs may be pretty typical but I did have to crank the volume up to get these to really work for me. The impedence isn’t that high and the sensitivity isn’t that low but still I found that I really needed volume to get the most out of these even with a fairly competent IEM DAC/AMP.

Drivers: 1x 10 mm Diamond Diaphragm Dynamic Driver, 1x Custom BA, 1x 7mm Bone Conduction Driver
Frequency: 20 to 20,000 Hz
Impedence: 26 Ω
Sensitivity: 100 dB

QoA Bijou Review – The Taste Test Setup:

Nothing really new here as ever. I did consider going with ‘harder’ or ‘stiffer’ eartips. The idea was to try and maximize the effect of the bone conduction driver. However, after a little trial and probably a lot of error I couldn’t really conclude that the changes in sound were due to the bone conduction driver rather than the eartips so I just went back to my tried and tested. My favorite. The one and only (except of course there are two of them). Spinfit W1s.

DAC/AMP: SMLS M20
Cable: 4.4 mm Tripowin C-01
Eartips: Spinfit W1 (Silicon)

QoA Bijou Review – The Non-Audio:

The QoA Bijou do come with a case. And yes you guessed it, its blue. But its not the same blue. Its a restrained matt faux leather. I would have liked a glossy, shiny sparkly blue case. It would have matched the IEMs well. It would have been garish. But it would have matched. The cable is pretty decent. Definitely a step up from the cables that typical accompany the sub £30 IEMs and so one that matches well with the QoA Bijou’s price.

As is also to be expected you do get some eartips. And yes you guess it, they are blue. I think you get two different eartips in three sizes. Again as is fairly typical. Currently I am not sure where I have put these eartips (don’t want to admit I have lost them but I have certainly placed them in a very space space. The sort of place where I would put them so that I don’t lose them.)

The build is also pretty good. The resin feels solid and the construction is smooth. There are no geographical features to be found on this IEM. No rivers. No Mountains. No Canyons. Its a smooth as the ocean on a windless day.

Comfort is also smooth. The eartips obviously help with this. Not sure how many IEMs have been award the top ‘Lounging on the Sofas’ award and not used the spinfit W1 eartips. Certainly most of them have used this eartip. Ignoring the eartips for a minute. The QoA Bijou is a mid sized IEM that is relatively lightly and features only small shaping on the inner edge. I think it will work well for most people from a comfort perspective and for me it worked really well (at least with my favorite eartips).

And finally we come to style. Did you know its blue? Well you do now. Its very blue. I don’t think I need to say more.

Accessories: Just Some Peanuts (More Bath Toy Than Luxury Yacht)
Style: Call Liquor (The Blue Jewel of the Ocean)
Build: Dish Washer Proof (Built For the High Seas)
Comfort: Lounging on the Sofas (Hitting the Sun Deck)

QoA Bijou Review – The Audio:

The QoA Bijou is probably best described as a base and vocal focused IEM. Maybe a little like the Tangzu Waner Red Lion. The bass has a bit of bounce to it just like the bass of the BGVP Feather. Its the sort of bass I really like. It keeps up the speed and hard impact but without feeling dull or hollow. It doesn’t really priorities sub-bass or mid-bass and strikes are sort of balance where there is plenty of both.

The mids remain clear but are actually pretty thick. There is defiantly a warmth to the mids that adds good weight and prevents instruments from sounding thin. That ‘scoop’ that is so often used to separate the bass from the mids isn’t present here and the result is a full but controlled sound that keeps the bass and mids separate without reducing the mids.

To anyone that has seen my previous reviews it should be pretty obvious that I like a very energetic sound. Generally, this energy is to be found in the bass and in the treble and often (particularly) in the treble. I like more force and power than is typical. The QoA Bijou however does not fully cater to my preference. There is energy here and the treble is crisp and sharp but it should be soft enough for those that are not me and don’t suffer from my particular shortfalls. There is however good air and this leads to a light spacious sound.

Spacious is probably the key word with this IEM. The soundstage is massive and enveloping it extends all around and helps facilitate above average imaging. As I mentioned earlier, I don’t know if I can credit the Bone Conduction driver for this but certainly as a whole the technicals of this IEM are very impressive including good details that can really help the production of a lively sound. I didn’t use this IEM for gaming (well not the sort of games that gaining IEM people care about) but I would expect it to be pretty excellent. Obviously anything this blue on a real battlefield would likely result in instant death but in the virtual world things work a little differently (or so I am told).

And finally (and in the wrong order) we come to the vocals. Though overall this IEM does male and female vocals equally well I am inclined to suggest that it does male vocals a little bit better. The weight gives them more heft and maybe blunts some of the higher pitched vocalist. Generally, vocals felt a little forward certainly compared to their typical on V-shaped tuning IEMs like many of those I have reviewed recently.

The Base Spirit (Bass): 83.56 % (The Distant Storm)
The Modifier (Mids): 80.90 % (Beware the Monsters of the Deep)
The Sweetener (Treble): 78.30% (Heed the Siren’s Call)
The Vocals: 81.65 % (Chasing the Setting Sun)
The Garnish (Details): 85.70 % (Navigating by the Stars)
The Presentation (Technicals): 91.70 % (Heading Beyond the Horizon)

QoA Bijou Review – The AI Opinion:

This a new feature that I am trying out. How well will it work? I don’t know but here goes anyway.

In this section I have asked Google’s AI mode to predict a score for the to be reviewed IEM prior to publishing my review. To get this prediction I have asked that it predict a score based upon the scoring system employed by me here at the HiFi Mai Tai beach bar. That’s it. It is as simple as that. I could be doing myself out of the job here. But got to embrace the modern world etc. And if AI is gonna take my job I am going to go down fighting. Hopefully it proves itself rubbish and there is nothing to worry about.

So the QoA Bijou. What does AI think?

The Base Spirit (Bass): 83.00%
The Modifier (Mids): 76.00%
The Sweetener (Treble): 74.00%
The Vocals: 81.00%
The Garnish (Details): 75.00%
The Presentation (Technicals): 82.00%

I think this is the closest AI and I have been for a very long time. We practically agree on the bass and the vocals. We aren’t even that far apart on the mids and treble. Across the bass, mids, treble and vocals we even agree that the QoA bass is the best bit, vocals second, mids third and treble forth. This obviously could all just be coincidence but I don’t know if AI believes in chance. Maybe it believes in destiny. I wonder what the AI gods are like.

Of course we are not in perfect agreement. And we very much disagree on the technicals and the details. I felt that the details were great and I could hear a lot of those small sounds that really make the track and often give indication of how the track was made. AI wasn’t really impressed in this regard. Also I was impressed by the soundstage (which is impressive) and the above average imaging. Again AI wasn’t really impressed in this regard. Maybe AI just needed to crack up the volume a bit but I have to respect it for wanting to look after its hearing.

QoA Bijou Review – Overall:

So for some comparisons first up its the BGVP Feather. The BGVP feather is a more v-shaped version of the QoA Bijou where the treble has been boosted for more sharpness and more air. The bass of these two IEMs is similar but the BGVP Feather is better defined with more texture. The mids of the BGVP Feather are a bit thinner lacking the weight of the QoA Bijou but sounding clearer and sharper. Ignoring the cost I wouldn’t hesitate to take the BGVP Feather over the QoA Bijou but the QoA Bijou is probably better value.

Following on from the feather its the Kinera Celest Phoenix Call. The Phoenix Call is another Tribrid IEM this time from Kinera Celest (the sister company to QoA). The Bass of the Phoenix Call is more mid bass focused and generally there is a little less bass. The mids of the phoenix call are a little but thinner bit certainly not too skinny. The Phoenix call is a more resolving set with greater emphasis on small details. The vocals of the Phoenix call are arguably better being more forward and powerful however they are impacted tonally by the strange sounds that occur in the upper mids/lower treble. Its this metallic artifical sound that really holds the Kinera Celest Phoenix Call back and why I would chose the QoA Bijou.

And finally its the KZ Decet. Really I decided to include the KZ Decet in the comparison as it too has a massive soundstage. When it comes to choosing between the KZ Decet and the QoA Bijou its an easy choice and its one not informed but the sound. As I have said time and time again the KZ Decet are uncomfortable and so I would take the QoA Bijou. The Decet has more bass, sharper treble, clearer mids and more detail. The Bijou has better imaging, a more textured bass, weightier mids and better vocals. Therefore, if ignoring comfort it really comes down to preference. But I do not recommend ignoring comfort. Comfort is very important.

In summary. I like these a lot. I think these represent decent value. I think if I was a blue hater the sound of the QoA wouldn’t quite be enough to win me over but as I have no problems with the color blue I have no problem liking this IEM. If you value an expansive soundstage, appreciate boosted but still balanced bass, warm mids and softer treble then this really could be an excellent value option for you.