This and That:
OEM of the Fidue A83 with different colour scheme, less (and less premium) accessories and a lower price.
Rather underwhelming unboxing experience with transparent plastic slipcase, foam-filled cardboard package that contains the in-ear as well as three differently sized pairs of silicone tips and an UPQ-branded carrying case (the same one is also supplied with the Fidue A73).
I really like the shell design and colour scheme.
The outer half consists of metal while the inner half is made of plastic.
The drivers are visible through the shell, which is something I like.
Supple and nice looking cable that unfortunately lacks a chin-slider.
It feels a little less premium than it looks, though.
MMCX connectors but rotation-locked wherefore they (thankfully) don't swivel, which should improve reliability and minimise wear (well, thinking about it, they should've rather gone for 2-pin connectors).
Sound:
Low impedance sources, largest included silicone tips.
Tonality:
W-shaped tonality with an elevated bass, bright upper mids and elevated upper highs.
The bass is elevated by about 8 dB compared to an in-ear with diffuse-field flat lows (Etymotic ER-4S/ER4SR), and starts to rise below 500 Hz, reaches its maximum quantity around 100 Hz, keeps it and extends flat until 40 Hz, with just a minor roll-off below.
There is a bit of fullness in the lower root, albeit no bleed into the midrange.
The midrange is on the bright side, with increasing level from 1 towards 3 kHz, therefore favouring the upper mids.
Above that, the level in the lower treble and middle treble decreases, and forms a deep dip at 4.3 kHz.
Going up, one can hear a bright, wide emphasis between 7 and 10 kHz.
Super treble extension is good past 14 kHz.
- - -
Not much surprisingly, the sound signature is neither of the reference type nor of a modest, natural or balanced one but favours brightness ("air"), however there are certain areas that make this tonality work (for me and for several other fans of the Fidue A83).
It's that mild lower root warmth that acts as some counterbalance to the brightness in the midrange, along with that distinct 4.3 kHz recession that generates headroom for the upper and lower treble elevations. It's a risky tuning, but to my ears, the QE80 manages to pull it off really well, without any sharpness or harshness, despite the brightness. And its tuning works certainly better than that of its successor, the Fidue A85 Virgo.
The QE80 simply lacks the unwanted middle treble peakiness that many other w-shaped in-ears have, its upper midrange isn't excessively bright, and its middle treble recession helps a lot with generating headroom for the bright elevations and acts as a dark counterweight.
To me, it's an effortless, clarity-oriented fun signature that isn't natural but lets me relax and enjoy, immerse myself deeply in the music, even though it's in a gimmicky way.
Resolution:
Good midrange and treble resolution as well as note separation.
The bass doesn't hide its dynamic driver nature, as it sounds audibly soft and is on the slower side. Control and details are still decent in the lows, however due to the soft nature, low notes can sound slightly muddy on fast and demanding recordings.
Soundstage:
The soundstage is mostly convincing with a rather large imaginary room that seems to feature about as much spatial depth as there is width.
Imaging isn't quite razor-sharp or precise though.
Conclusion:
Not a reference signature at all but instead w-shaped, bright and gimmicky, with some technical deficits, however it's a very enjoyable fun sound that lets me immerse myself deeply in the music. When it comes to Asian hybrid w-shaped sounding in-ears, this one does it really well.