Disclaimer:
The EPZ x Tipsy Star One was sent to me with a discount from EPZ, for which I am grateful!
However, the review will still be 100% honest and, in no way, biased.
After reviewing their DACs (TP20 & TP30) and the EPZ Q5, I’m now really curious about their new releases. The Q5 has become a point of reference in their price range given their sound quality. The Star One promises, with his high impedance, low sensitivity, noise suppression, low distortion, and high restoration sound effects, a pure and immersive sound experience.
I’m not an audiophile; I’m just a guy that likes to test out different IEMs and DACs and spends a lot of time listening to music.
So I’m not going to use super-technical words to review it, but I will do my best to describe it.
Tech Specs:
- Driver: 10mm dual magnetic circuit, dual cavity dynamic driver
- Diaphragm: LCP+PU composite diaphragm
- Impedance: 64Ω+15%(@1kHz)
- Sensitivity: 112dB dB Vrms (at 1 kHz)
- Noise reduction: 26 dB
- Technical features High impedance low sensitivity
- Frequency Range: 20 Hz–40 kHz
- Effective frequency response: 20 Hz–20 kHz
- QDC 0.78mm double needle type
- Plug 3.5mm
- Color: Broken Night Star (Black); Day Cloud Star (White)
- Cable: High-purity oxygen-free copper silver-plated wire
- Body material: Weji Art Museum handmade panel, High-precision 3D printing skin-fiendly resin cavity
Packaging:
The packaging is decidedly less exciting than that seen on the Q5. The packaging of the Epz x Tipsy Star One is compact and well made. It opens like a watch box and we find the leaflet with the digital manual. The headphones in my case (I don’t know if it’s a first batch) seem to be housed in a sponge that isn’t contoured to their shape.
Inside, we find various accessories, such as:
- Carrying Pouch
- High-purity oxygen-free copper silver-plated wire with QDC
- 1 sets of tips (seems to be like Kbear 07 tips)
- Digital Manual
It is noted that the accessories do not seem to be up to par with the IEMs. They are fantastic in every sense and built to perfection. The included cable left me a little thoughtful. It’s not a bad cable, and if the internal core is of good quality, it doesn’t have any problems, but for a similar segment, I would have imagined something more thick.
The tips are few, but at least the ones present are the best ones that are usually included. The transport bag is sufficient, but on the EPZ Q5, we had a hard case.
Design/Build quality:
The EPZ x Tipsy Star One shows off a very attractive look and design. Here you can fully appreciate the workmanship of the faceplates, which have truly atomic colors and appear to have been handmade or inspired by the Weiji Art Museum. In the case of the black version like mine, the color comes out more in the dim light; in fact, as you will notice from the photos in the shade and in the sun, they look like two different IEMs.. The shells are made of very dark but slightly transparent resin; obviously, some fingerprints remain.
We can see how on the back there is a small metal cone with a filter inside (I think the only one) responsible for eliminating the internal pressure. The nozzle vaguely resembles that of the Moondrop Chu II which, however, could be dismantled. The shape is standard, but the exit is narrow, or so it seems to me. I hope the choice of a nozzle with a smaller hole has not compressed the soundstage.
In any case, to better understand the design and its shapes, I decided to shoot some short videos on a rotating base. I hope you like it!
Initial sound impression:
Holy shit! As soon as you put them on, you can immediately hear the totally dark background without any background noise, excellent acoustic insulation, and very high comfort. The first track starts, and I am immediately struck by the beauty of the voices, especially the female ones, but then comes the bass… Truly crazy quality. This is yet another IEM with a Harman target, but the 10mm driver with its LCP + PU liquid crystal titanium composite membrane sounds wonderful. It is certainly also thanks to the semi-open cavity, but the soundstage is above average.
Final sound impression:
Equipment used for testing above
Device:
- iMac
- Redmi Note 7 (MIUI-Based)
- Poco M4 Pro
Software:
- Foobar2000 24bit 192kHz (iMac)
- Amazon music UHD 24bit 96kHz (Both)
- iTunes
- Tidal Hifi Plus
DAC:
- LessFox Da1 (AK4493EQ)
- F.audio KS01 (ESS)
- EPZ TP20 (Dual Cirrus)
- Hidizs XO (Dual ESS)
- EPZ TP30 (Dual ESS)
- Hidizs S9 Pro Plus
- Fosi SK02
- Fiio Ka11
- Hidizs S3 pro
They sounded excellent right out of the box, but I played them for about 30 hours anyway. Whether it’s useful or not doesn’t matter; if in doubt, I do it anyway before carrying out a longer listening session. At the time of the review, I had been alternating them with other models for 3 weeks now.
My impressions are initially given using the original accessories.
The EPZ x Tipsy Star One are undoubtedly a particularly mass-friendly Harman set; the tuning does not exceed and always remains pleasantly warm; they go well with any musical genre; however, a similar set deserves a bit of tips rolling to determine if there are any advantages.
Tips Rolling?
As always, trying other tips, both expensive and cheap, is always a great idea.
Let’s be clear: There is no need to spend any more money on extra tips.
- The Divinus Velvet tips, as always, guarantee excellent stability, but this time I found them slightly less comfortable. In terms of sound performance, they guarantee, as always, excellent sealing, improving the sound almost everywhere.
- The Dunu S&S tips literally open up the soundstage, elevating their monitor quality; surprisingly, even the bass remains unchanged. It was an excellent choice in this case, but they lengthened the nozzle a little too much.
- The poor version of the Whizzer SS20, however, literally left me speechless. They cost very little and are definitely the second set that should have included EPZ! I put them in a particularly small size; I think S/M for a deeper insertion. The nozzle is practically naked in the ear; there are no lateral obstacles, and the sound enters straight into the ear. Excellent result, like the Dunu, but with 1/5 the price.
Treble
The treble region is smoother than that of the EPZ Q5, where, in my opinion, there is more brilliance and perception of air. Here we remain in the safe zone; we never reach the limit, but for my personal taste, this tuning allows for more prolonged use without discomfort. It won’t bring any joy to the Trebleheads, but from my point of view, they are extremely well looked after and enjoyable.
Mids
Glory to the midrange! Here there is a decidedly natural and pleasant shade. The voices all have depth; they are silky and alive. Note of merit for the tracks sung by women. The musical instruments sound absolutely coherent, even if that sparkling note on the cymbals is missing. However, their separation is excellent, and the dark background makes the image stand out.
Bass
I consider the bass to be just outside of what I would call natural. The bass here have a completely different thickness than usual; they are as heavy as a nice rare steak. They are not excessive, but the quality of them is excellent. The sub-bass is quite pushed and goes quite low from what I can hear. With a bit of EDM or D&B, the bass expresses itself. Try a track like Leavemealone by Fred again… and test them! They are so thick that the eardrum begs for mercy.
Soundstage and Imaging:
The soundstage is really good (above average). It develops more in width, but the involvement is 360 degrees. The image is very detailed and the dark background seems to improve its quality. Very good layering; it mixes on very complex tracks, but it could also be that the track was not recorded perfectly. It improves with adequate amplification; for example, the brand new Fiio Ka11 fits perfectly and has all the necessary power.
Comparison:
vs EPZ Q5
My EPZ Q5 has undergone some upgrades, such as balanced cables and DUNU S&S tips. With these changes, the price increased, but since I liked them so much, I wanted to invest some money. The cable is balanced and obviously brings some improvements—more aesthetic, to be honest. The DUNU S&S, on the other hand, helps the soundstage considerably; the bass and sub-bass are more delicate. They are an extremely good set, brighter than Star One, richer package but MMCX connector.
The bass and sub-bass are more delicate.
vs Rose Technics QuietSea
Even here, the beloved MMCX (so to speak), Quietsea, is definitely a more neutral choice. The internal driver should be like the ones Hifiman uses, even if the tuning is not flat. Great price considering the high-quality cable, tips, and case.
It sounds divine and is even more versatile in terms of musical genre. A great iem, a little energetic, and can be a little hot at times. I recommend you to take a look at my review and that of my colleague Chris Love.
Conclusion:
I think EPZ has outdone itself again. Lately, the public has been expanding around this brand, which undoubtedly has a good ear when it comes to tuning. The Epz x Tipsy Star One are a winning collaboration. The IEM is built with both aesthetic and technical care. Its 64 ohms make it suitable for monitoring but require slightly more amplification to show off their potential. As for the included accessories, we could have done better. I hope EPZ takes the advice to also include tips similar to the SS20, while as regards the cable, perhaps something extra could have been done. This is not a functional issue, as they work very well, but simply due to their price. For me, they are definitely on a completely different level compared to the single DDs in my possession, especially regarding the dark background and the well-structured bass.
Obviously, if we move on to hybrid IEMs with different drivers, we will find equally valid proposals.
Great job, EPZ! The Tipsy collaboration paid off! Pay attention to the accessories!
8.8/10
Pros:
- Premium single DD
- Shell quality and materials are really good
- Good, simple packaging
- Removable QDC cable
- Really nice-looking faceplates
- Warm natural tuning
- Nice, Beefy Bass and sub-bass
- Note Thickness
- Good details and layering
- Quite wide Soundstage for a single DD
Cons:
- Cable could be better for the price
- Fingerprints magnet
- Few accessories
- Needs a good source (64ohm)
- A Balanced cable option would be great
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