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Product Description
A hit on Drop with recent models like the DMG, earphone manufacturer BGVP is back with another impressive offering. The DM6 comes in a variety of colors, and with its ergonomic, ear-filling design, it could easily be mistaken for a high-end CIEM Read More
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Light, comfy, isolating, easy to drive, decent detail retrieval, but overpriced
I appreciate how light, comfy, and isolating they are, fitting snuggly in my ears for many hours w/o any discomfort. I also find them to be very easy to drive, so I can get great sound level from any of my devices, including FiiO's LC-BT2, taking full advantage of LDAC playback from my phone. These have decent enough detail retrieval for me, though the signature is unique vs. my other IEMs...less natural than my dynamic ones, but I get acclimated to them pretty quickly. That being said, given the really good IEMs that are now available for much less money, I couldn't recommend buying these unless they're at liquidation price.
Pros: I well built and decent sounding IEM. It is not the most detailed and the mids are a little too recessed for me but otherwise not much to complain about.
Cons: The nozzle really needs to be re-done. Every time I take the IEMs out of my ears the silicon tip get stuck in my ears
A community member
Feb 4, 2021
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There are my first "high end" chi-fi IEMs and i have not bought anything else since this. I had to re-listen to all my favorite albums, what genres are best with it, and it just sounded like a whole new sound--everything sounded great and punchy. The over-the-ear took some getting used to bc i also have the NuForce EDC3 which have much thinner and lighter cables. this is coming from an open-back headphones user. overall i am very happy with this. its my end game IEMs. at its price it kills everything else.
I love these DM6's and the DM7's. DM6's rival my Shure 535's and my UE TripleFi's. Get good foam tips for these and you won't be disappointed. For $120, these are a steal. They punch waaay above their weight, and made me shelve the NuForce 8's. Try them. If you don't like them, gift them to a non-audiophile relative....
This is a review written for headphone enthusiasts, by a headphone enthusiast. It will make a lot of references familiar to people who while away a lot of free time surfing the web reading about headphones. For those who haven't acquired a taste for researching tea leaves, then this review may not be your cup of tea. So to summarize briefly at a high level, I find these in-ears to be extraordinary.
They are extremely transparent. This means they take on the personality and traits of the equipment and recording feeding them. It is very easy to listen to music one has heard countless times before on these headphones, hear something presented in a different way, and then draw conclusions about the headphones themselves that are mistaken. One could come away with the conclusion the headphones are bass light, bass heavy, grainy, shrill, silky, bright, warm all just by listening to familiar tracks with familiar expectations.
The story invariably turns out to be a bit more complicated, as with these headphones you can start hearing the differences being made in your signal chain. They are incredibly sensitive and reveal details of all sorts that aren't originating with the headphones themselves.
I've listened to these for about a year now, and believe I have a fairly decent handle on their sound signature. The only critical comment I would make is they are a bit lacking in the *sub* bass. They are absolutely *not* lacking in bass. So to put it simply from about 40 hz up these have tremendous bass. Down around 20 I'd say I occasionally miss some details that show up on a handful of other headphones noted particularly for their sub bass presentation (Fiio fh5).
Besides this one caveat I would say these offer a level of clarity, detail and accuracy more gratifying than any other In Ear headphone I've encountered in anything like their price range. The quirks one encounters when listening to them invariably turn out to vary with eartip, source, and recording. In other words they are incredibly sensitive and precise instruments that can give the listener insight into his or her signal chain and how the slightest differences are translating.
From here this review will begin to ramp up on making references familiar to enthusiasts.
One day I made a point of sitting down with these to do a "shoot out". The other in ears I compared with were the Fiio fh5, Mee Pinnacle 1, and Shure se 535. In that setting I found the only headphone that came close to offering something to compete with these were the Shure. However, it is worth noting, I was running the Shures on a balanced cable, while everything else was single ended. Additionally the Shures have the somewhat reserved bass presentation they are renowned for. For all of that, the 535 had imaging characteristics and an "x factor" that made them the only other contenders of the bunch I had on hand. Of course, to this day, the 535 cost double the price of the DM6. They also lack a great deal of bass authority.
So, by the time of this paragraph... hopefully it is acceptable if I begin writing more as one headphone enthusiast addressing another. If these hold up so well against perennial favorites such as the 535, and perhaps even best them... why do the BGVP DM6 have a slightly checkered reputation? Some seem to love them. Some not so much. I have a theory about this.
Zeos Pantera, who has become the heir to the Tyll Herstens throne imo (I mentioned this was going to turn into a review for enthusiasts) panned them. BUT... I think the way he panned them is very telling. He panned them for being like... wait for it... the Audezee LCD 4.
Wait... so the knock on these $200 price range headphones is that they are like... a flagship $4,000 headphone? How is that a knock? Excellent question. Before I answer that... a pause for the less rabid headphone enthusiasts? On the off chance you are not one, and for some reason are still reading, a little history. Tyll Herstens started a business for selling headphones, and then later a website for reviewing them well over a decade ago. That website is called innerfidelity.com and it existed before Drop / Massdrop. It was a site where those of us who realize headphones can be appreciated in precisely the way some connoisseurs appreciate a fine bottle, or a fantastic meal, went to read about things both inside our price range, as well as world class options that might be out of reach.
The Audeze LCD4 has a very unique and esoteric history on Tyll Herstens' original incarnation of innerfidelity. When he first reviewed it, a $4k flagship headphone by one of the world's finest headphone manufacturers... he found fault with it. He thought it was too shrill. But what really set the LCD4 apart in the history of that site, and in the annals of headphone enthusiast folklore, was that Tyll later turned around and published a retraction of his original review. It turned out the pair he reviewed initially had a defect! Upon revisiting them with a pair the manufacturer vouched for he found they were indeed every bit the world class flagship they were intended to be, and he had them for an extended period of time on his much copied "Wall of Fame."
So, what does this have to do with the BGVP DM6? It provides a lens through which to consider the negative review they received from Zeos Pantera. Now before going any further, I just want to write I am a massive fan of Zeos'. I have bought several headphones on his recommendation and I have *never* been disappointed. I love his approach, his humor and agree more often than not with his findings. In fact... I completely agree with his findings regarding the BGVP DM6. They *are* like an in ear version of the LCD4.... well... ok... within reason. These are BA driver headphones, not planar, and as noted the one thing they lack is deep sub bass... unlike planars... The build quality is not $4k worthy and, come to think of it, in ears vs. large diaphragm planars aren't ever going to be quite apples to apples. Again I'm addressing a comparison made by Zeos Pantera because I think its helpful for illuminating ways in which these shine. The fact they would conjure up a $4k planar in his review is what I think is worth noting, even if he had concerns about each. What I think Zeos meant with the comparison, and what I agree with, has to do with the approach of both sets of headphones to imaging and detail and sound stage.
To say that something is "in your face" usually means it is right under your eyes... pushing its way towards you. These headphones... similar to the LCD4 are in your face in the sense that everything is taking place in *exact* crystalline detail *directly behind your eye balls*. So... in your face as in... inside of your face! The clarity, resolution and reality of these headphones is overwhelming until you become accustomed to it. For some that might be considered a negative. For myself, I have to admit, the first month or two after I had them I recognized I couldn't wear them in some situations *because they required too much attention*.
It is all well and fine to walk down the street listening to headphones. Walking down the street with John Coletrane wailing his heart out in vivid detail behind your nose makes it really really difficult to keep track of traffic or other pedestrians. So, if I'm correct, the thing Zeos was objecting to was the hyper intensity presented by these headphones and the fact it could interfere with the way one might normally relate to music or appreciate headphones. For my part, as someone who has done a reasonable amount of audio mixing and been laser focused on listening to, or searching for, the most minute details in a mix... I found these to be an extraordinary value for money.
Mixing on IEMs would be pure suicide for a number of reasons. With that said, I can relate to these the way I would studio monitors... world class monitors. You can hear everything with these (except 20hz or below) and you can hear *exactly* how your dac, source and cables are contributing to the sound. In other words, I think the LCD4 comparison is legit.
The thing to remember is that when Zeos compared these to LCD4s, it is ... pretty much impossible to consider he was listening to the defective pair Tyll first reviewed. So Zeos compared these to a properly functioning LCD4, the $4k headphone Tyll put up on his wall of fame. The reason he positioned this as a negative was likely because of the general *perception* in the headphone enthusiast community that the LCD4 were a dog because of the *initial* review Tyll gave them.
First impressions last the longest. So in the world of headphone enthusiasts there is still sometimes a cloud associated with the LCD4 because they got an initial rough review on the site the entire community relied upon. However for those of us who are most engaged with the hobby, it is worth taking a moment to recall that cloud was the result of a fluke. The truth is, if anyone listens to these and compares them to a $4k world class headphone... then that's pretty much all you need to know right there about how good these are.
Is the style of sonic presentation provided by these, or the LCD4 everyone's cup of tea? Not necessarily. The comparison between headphone enthusiasts and connoisseurs of food and drink is perhaps most relevant here. Being a fan of fine scotch doesn't necessarily mean one is fond of peaty flavors. Others may only value a scotch if they can taste the peat, the deep moist soil found in the terrain of the hills of Scotland.
For anyone willing to work with me on that analogy, the end result is that some passionate fans of high end scotch will abhor what others consider to be the finest varieties in the world. I think that's roughly what's going on with the disconnect with these headphones. At a more universally recognized level, one can imagine the two different camps in headphone enthusiast communities being a bit like the difference between the Sennheiser HD600 vs. the 6xx (650). To get to a certain level of detail retrieval and clarity on headphones usually involves a narrower sound stage, with less range in imaging (the 600). To get a wider stereo field and a greater sense of space usually involves losing a degree of clarity and resolution (6xx / 650).
The LCD4 and the BGVP DM6 collapse the sound stage so that everything takes place directly inside the land of dreams.. also known as your head. The headphones Zeos generally prefers, such as the very fine Fiio fh5, specialize in creating a sonic realm outside and around your head.
As a result it makes perfect sense that there will be some that don't appreciate the BGVP DM6 approach to imaging and detail. This is perfectly reasonable and plausible. When it comes to pursuing perfection, and a no compromise high end sound, one is focusing on eliminating the compromises that don't align with one's taste. Some folks want the peatiest of peat. Some want a smooth flavor with less bite. This is just down to preference. What matters is that these operate on the level of trying to fully realize a particular vision of the perfect headphone. Some will be disappointed. Some will marvel and wonder aloud "BGVP DM6... where have you been all my life?"
I fall into that later category. But then I like both peat and smooth. The wonderful thing about headphones... you can own more than one pair. As noted, these are headphones for when you can devote yourself to paying attention to music. Walking down the street is tricky if you hear Phil Collins in Brand X banging away on a drum kit in vivid full life detail right behind the bridge of your nose. It can take some getting used to having a rock band wail in your noggin. For some it will be a bit of pure bliss.
League544I have been a musician since the 80's and played in several bands. I play lead guitar and also keyboards, have owned ten of thousands of dollars in musical equipment, including various guitars (currently have about 18), pedals and modelers, many analog and digital synths, recording consoles, and many thousands of dollars in production software. I have also produced electronic music. On top of that I currently own over 25 headphones and over 30 IEMs in all price ranges (I am not rich, but I am well of). So, I do know something about sound, but that does not give me the right to belittle and dismiss others. I don't disagree that price of audio equipment means that more expensive is better, but you dissed someone's review about a $139 IEM. In my book, that is a very reasonably priced IEM. Beyond that, your responses are generally disrespectful. One lesson you may learn in life is that attempting to make other people feel stupid almost never works. Showing others respect while making a logical case of why you think they are wrong works much better. You need to tone down the shock value of your comments and learn what people mean by soundstage, or imaging, or mid-forward, etc. when they are describing sound. Rather than just repeat that nobody knows what they are talking about, make you case with terms that reviewers will understand. And don't denigrate Zeos or anyone for their weight or their lifestyle or anything else because that just makes you sound like a bigot, and we have enough of those already.
The quality appears to be very good. My only gripe is with the bass output. On some material I listen to, like classical jazz, the bass disappears. These IEMs are very mid-range oriented, so it's incumbent upon you to pair them with some sort of DAC EQ to boost the low end. They do take EQ very well so you will be able to get them to sound very nice.