Astrum Review-NymPHONOmaniac（head-fi）

Pros: -balanced L shape to warm neutral tonality
-round weighty mid bass
-vibrant sub bass that don’t induce masking resonance
-lush inviting and well focused mid range
-both male and female vocal sound full and wide enough in presence
-smoothest balance from BGVP, free of spike, sibilance, harshness
-effortless yet not aggressive micro dynamic
-delicate sparkly highs
-versatile warmish tone
-natural timbre (zero BA timbre)
-very cohesive multi drivers balance
-both musical and technical
-beautiful craftsmanship
-good accessories
-spectacular unboxing

Cons: -not cleanest nor most open sounding
-average imaging
-mid bass isn’t most textured and well separated
-both macro and micro dynamic are relaxed (can be a plus for some)
-not as sparkly as i would expect from ESTs

TONALITY: 8.5/10
TECHNICALITIES: 8.5/10
TIMBRE: 8.5/10
SOUNDSTAGE: 8/10
IMAGING: 8/10
MUSICALITY (subjective): 8.2/10
VERSATILITY: 9/10
CONSTRUCTION: 9/10
ACCESSORIES: 10/10
SOUND VALUE: 8.2/10

Intro

BGVP is a well established IEM company from China that has been around for about 10 years. Their goal has always been to achieve high sound benefit return by using prime drivers tech at affordable cost. Notable IEM release I have the chance to review are their 9 drivers with 4EST tribrid DM9 that is analytical technical beast, tribrid with bone conduction marvel DMA that still hold its ground as being among best IEM with BC under 500$ even in 2025 and their flagship King of them all, the Solomon, which offer spacious crispy musicality that I just can,t get enough of.

Today, I will review their latest release, the BGVP Astrum.

Priced 700$, the Astrum is a tribrid IEM using 2 dual faced 8mm dynamic driver, 2 knowles balance armature and 2 sonion electrostatic driver.

It promises a versatile musicality with ‘’calming and mellow tone’’, ‘’vocal that resonate deeply’’ and ‘’bass that stir the soul’’.

Let see in this review if BGVP still roll on their latest success and tuning balance improvement and achieve again an IEM offering that is both captivating in musicality and impressive enough in technical performance

CONSTRUCTION&ACCESSORIES

The Astrum are real candies for their eyes, the complex painting of their shell is extremely unique and evoke galactical imagery. Each pair is hand painted and unique in their finish. The resin plastic used is high grade and feels thick and sturdy. It’s utterly smooth and slippy too. It happens a couple of times. It slipped from my finger and fell on the hard floor and no damage happened. Those aren’t easy to scratch or to seriously damage.
Shell ergonomic has a universal ear printing shape, it’s chunky but compact, not oversized. The metal nozzle is rather short so it’s not thinked fur super deep fit.
On top, the 2pin connector isn’t recessed, it’s not 100% flat either so their minuscule gap under connector. It’s not an issue though cause it’s not very curvy, we talk about final polishing jobs that create 1mm or less gap.

The included cable is marvelous and fits perfectly the IEM aesthetic. It’s a thick 8 cores braid cable using graphene+copper wires. It’s on the warm side for sound transmission so if you want Astrum sound notch cleaner-crisper, you might want to use silver plated cable like Effect Audio Cadmus2 which I like to pair it with.

For unboxing, I will be short and link the video I made about it so you have a better idea of the real ethereal experience you get. It’s too complex to explain. Let’s just say it’s spectacular unboxing you get and IEM comes in an oversized fancy box with lighting and even some ‘’special effects’’!

The lighting might feel over the top, but in fact it’s very valuable for those listening to music in the dark and seeking for an IEM or cable stored in this jewel like box.
Then in terms of accessories, you got the most fancy (and heavy) carrying case ever, this alone is another piece of art, very prestige….very…witchcraft? Fairytale? Don’t know but it’s spellbinding and extremely unique. The only con is: you won’t want to bring this on the go, when i say it’s heavy it’s an understatement, this is made with dense forged metal and weighs about 1kg on its own!

Apart from the cables, you have a very generous amount of eartips. 12 pairs in 4 models. Including Azla Xelastec like sticky eartips. It makes the sound brighter while my fav are KBear KB07 like yellow eartips wide bore that are called ‘’vocal eartips’’.

Anyway, check this video to get your mind blown!
https://www.youtube.com/embed/7mOE0hFyIzA

SOUND IMPRESSIONS

(based on Vocal wide bore eartips pairing. most used pairing is with Tanchjim Luna cause its crisp and clean dongle with low impedance output)

The tonality of Astrum leans toward neutrality with a slight bass boost or L shaped, it’s quite smooth in balance and delicate in dynamic energy. In fact, this is among best balanced sounding hybrids from BGVP, their a liquid coherency with all drivers that make music flow gently, without harsh peak or sudden frequencies range loudness boost that would dominate macro dynamic.
We are in what I call Lukewarm territory, since nothing sound too warm or too bright yet we have mix of both, from lower mid bass warm attack sustain-release transition into lower mid to clear instrument presence and delicately vivid treble, the Astrum is both polite in musicality and talented in technicality without being shown off in term of intensity of resolution readability, it don’t scream at you, in fact it whisper confidently and more you listen to it, more you will discover how rich can go it’s soundscape.

This delivers an intimate atmosphere, close to the listener, like being in a small concert hall there is this ‘’live recording’’ realism to Astrum sound, this means you can hear natural echo of vocal and instrument as well as background sound info clearly but not analytically.

Is this one of those ‘’jack of all trades, master of none’’ IEM? To some extent I would say yes, because it’s a very versatile set, punch is there but not over powering, mids are relaxed and clear and open within centered stage then their this effortless micro dynamic that is understated, don’t call for attention but once you go active critical listening you perceive those finely layered percussions and micro details that never go congested nor overstepped by mid range main instruments-vocal presence due to good transparency of layering.

So, we can say it’s master of natural balance as well as safest tuning from BGVP, a sign their tuning experience blossom gloriously in 2025, which I consider a turning point for this company that deliver rather spiky tuning (DM9) or overly warmed one (NS10pro) in 2024, yet offering still very high sound value for technical sound performance ratio.

Mature sounding without being cold or clinical, the Astrum musicality is a contemplative one without using U shape tuning with recessed or thin mids to boost intensely sens of spatial openness, their few guilty pleasure here even if as said notch of mostly natural warmth occur, it’s hard to fault such tonality especially when technical performance is up its asking price. Yet I guess some might find it slightly boring, one thing sure: don’t bet on graph to have an idea of how Astrum sound, as always, it can be in fact misleading, i tend to check graph to know if I accept or not a review sample (i try to avoid crazy spiky, mid recessed, shouty or unbalanced balance) and expected notably bassier and thicker sounding tonality, the bass boost on the graph seem to promise very bassy V shape and it ain’t this at all, since I perceive those as mostly neutral to L shape, quite lean in balance overall.

This BASS is marvellous in terms of quality, quite similar to dual DD bass of Solomon but warmer, less textured way since there is no bone conduction to brighten even more kick and bass line presence. It is not a weight less nor thin mid bass we have here, something very welcome in lower mids scooped tuning invasion we got from Chifi 2 last year.
The kick has true weight to it, with attack thumping confidently, we feel the lead of kick hit which has proper attack sustain authority to it then the release warms up its presence just slightly, their no long resonance after impact unlike mid range instruments like piano, vocal, saxo, violin, guitar. So, this is speedy in transient but just a notch slowed in release, this permits to keep mid range clean of unwanted attack decay masking. While I say mid bass is punchy enough, it’s in a neutral manner, not overly lean in dynamic nor light in impact, yet the punch isn’t super hard hitting nor super sharpened in definition, it’s still mellow and the sub bass has a notch more energy and boost in presence too. The Astrum isn’t for basshead, and doesn’t induce intensely engaging headbanging.
The sub bass extends deep and avoids resonance that would make release longer and looser, it’s tight, vibrant and dense bass line we get, very realistic and well layered even in fast rock tracks I would not struggle to follow electric bass. This is surprising and due to this extra tactility we get from dual faced DD that add some flesh and relief to bass line without making presence super bright or boosted in texture grain, it’s well juiced sub bass with colorful density to it, even better rounded in presence than mid bass and more easy to position too since when both bass and kick play at same time the presence of kick will go even warmer, making bassist pace more expressive and confident in rendering.
Then if we go with acoustic instrument like cello, timbre is smooth and dense and can’t be confounded with higher harmonic violin due to density and vibrancy of its lower tonality, the presence isn’t super wide and doesn’t interfere with piano or other instruments playing in chamber orchestra, tone is very natural and free of noisy spiky, it’s not sounding thin and metallic like a lot of IEM scooping lower mid range section (harman à la Crin).
Finally for the double bass it would be perfection if we have more textured bite for attack lead so we can feel finger pulling the string more, all the rest is so good, the presence is clean, dense with air and very elastic in release with effortless layering that make Astrum very Jazz friendly, but sometime i feel string are softly hitted instead of pulled, this is very precise nit-pick but revealing of this smoothen presence abrasivity of the soft sounding Astrum.
All in all, this is an utterly well balanced bass response that flows naturally in mid range and has good note weight, fast but densify in attack, sustains transient and well layered bass lines that don’t mix its release over mid range clarity.

The mid range is relaxed in expressivity, open in both presence and spatiality which means instrument and vocal don’t feel compressed and have natural loudness release that don’t go out of control nor harmonically messy. We have a notch of natural warmth that polish the presence edge, yet overall stage feel clean with an organic cohesion between instruments, their texture singularity isn’t very boosted so the timbre come out as liquid with notch of lushness, it’s anti grainy without going glassy or plain color less.
If you seek an IEM with a lot of acidic bite to attack, Astrum would feel too soft in transient, but if you want to avoid the infamous BA timbre that can go dry, noisy, plasticky, you’ll be welcome with something more velvety, more serene.
Here the mids are clean and delicate without being clinical, centered in intimate stage with clear but calm and static presence, the upper mid range is well polished and don’t induce shouty loudness swing, it’s not over sharpen and vocal don’t have any sibilance issue, those are easy going mids that don’t fight with each other to dominate their dynamism, from lower mids piano to upper mids female vocal, all instrument cohabite in calm space that make long time listening very rewarding.
The piano is full in tone, a bit light in note weight even if well articulate in pace, this time the attack release is beautifully natural and will blossom as long as recording ask for, this mean it’s easy to differentiate if pianist press sustain pedal or not and this natural echo dont feel air less, again their extra near edge less attack sustain air release density to it that gradually goes leaner and thinner and boost sense of realism.
The Astrum mids are vocalist specialists and don’t lack fullness, it’s the main focus of these IEM but as said, nothing is truly left out. If you’re allergic to overly cold or thin mids, this is a very good bet.

The treble is lean and deeply extended, it has this effortless near subdued micro dynamic capacity inherent to EST driver that extra micro details and percussions cleanly but not loudly. Energy of transients might be very speedy but it doesn’t boost macro expressivity, it stays clear and clean in the back, following its own pace without interfering with those of other instruments. This adds crisp layering on top and boost listener captivation once it reaches critical listening level.
The percussions has snappy attack lead with short sustain and release, it mean their zero cymbals crash splashyness, hit-hat are ultra tighten, some might find percussions smaller than they are used too since it’s not very bodied or round, nor very crunchy for non metallic sound like snare isn’t very energetic and impactful, this permit fatigue free listening where all loudness spike are damped.
These are delicately rich highs that would be considered dark without ESTs help that sharpen clarity as well as adding air on top. If ultra highs were overly zealous, it wouldn’t be as natural in balance, here the transient sharpness different with DD and BAs complete wonderfully the tonality by adding just a pinch of cleaner crispness on top.
Not only that, EST do inflict on the whole range in fact since it adds extra contour of presence to instrument without needing grainy 8khz texture boost, this permits to achieve this peculiar organic tonality.
We do have calm sparkle and brilliance to metallic instrument like acoustic guitar and percussions but it don’t go very loud, it’s more of a contemplative treble crispness we get than energetic one, this enrich the listening experience without forcing anything on you and to me this is a sign of good tonal balance.

The soundstage isn’t biggest highlight of Astrum, it’s not a massively open one, it’s rather intimate and close to listener head without sounding congested or stock in your brain.You feel like being into live concert within small room, as if artist was playing music just for you at about 5 meter of you. I often go to underground concerts in the past, it reminds me of being there, at ‘’La Sala Rosa’’, when I was very near the stage. Yet, again, if you seek a gigantically wide and deep soundstage the Astrum isn’t that.

As for imaging, you’re too close to center stage to precisely position instruments, the layering is good but instruments are close to each other and the stereophonic effect isn’t very boosted, so you dig into rich soundscape, your part of it.

COMPARISONS

VS BGVP SOLOMON (2dd3ba2BC2EST-1300$)

The Solomon is brighter and more W shaped in balance, it’s more technical and bone conduction boosts resolution of texture and presence clarity way more too.

The bass is less boosted in sub bass which is leaner and brighter, more texture in presence, this means the bass line has more bite but presence is not as densely bodied. Mid bass hits harder, edgier way and has superior clarity when it comes to kick drum definition, it feels faster and tighter too, less warm in sustain-release.

The mids are clearer, brighter, edgier, more energetic in dynamic and more forwards in upper mids harmonic. Female vocals are more lively and loud while male vocals are brighter and sharper in definition. The center stage is more open and vast, instruments are more articulated in layering. Vocal can go more grainy and sibilant, it’s less dark in texture, less colored in tone, note weight is about the same, but has edgier transient. Overall mids are more relaxed and intimate, leaner in dynamic with Astrum that has less grainy attack resonance release too.

The treble is notably more vivid and lively with Solomon, we have greater amount of micro details and clearer percussion lines. Electric guitar and violin have more bite to attack, more texture to presence which make their layer better portrayed. Astrum highs are leaner, more polished, more delicate and less thick and crunchy, less 3D and energized in micro dynamics.

The soundstage is notably wider, taller and deeper with Solomon.

Solomon imaging is superior too, but BC in your head extra instrument presence makes it less realistic and life-like.

All in all, those 2 are quite different, the fact Solomon uses sonion bone conduction is game changer here yet extra BA too had more macro and micro dynamic liveliness and higher resolution especially in texture sound info and micro sound brightness and fullness. Even bass is different, less rumbly and deeply vibrant. So, I would say Solomon is a more technical and analytical set compared to more relaxed and musical Astrum which ultimately feel less unique and irreplaceable than the more holographic, immersive and engaging sound of King Solomon.

VS ISN EST80 (2dd4ba2est-650$)

The Astrum is slightly more neutral, clearer and more balanced sounding, less warm and W shape.

The bass is less heavy and punchy, it has deeper leaner sub bass extension so while rumble isn’t as thick it has shorter sustain but longer and cleaner release, this make double bass less boomy, overall bass line better define and overall attack speedier, better controlled, less warmed with mid bass impact.

Mids aren’t as fully bodied and upfront, presence is more compressed and centered but transparency is superior as well as overall clarity. Macro dynamic isn’t as holographic and multi layered, instrument presence is thinner, less tactile but more textured. Their less low harmonic boost adds relief to the instrument, so it feels flatter, notch more recessed as if Astrum is more V shape overall. The stage is deeper and cleaner too. EST80 mids are warmer, lusher, thicker and wider in presence, it has heavier note weight, attack lead is heavier but not as edgy too.

Treble is crisper and fuller in extension, more generous in full picture of micro details, yet cymbals can go more splashy too since it’s less softened in mid treble section, so this makes micro dynamic more alive but macro dynamic less W shape as a whole. EST80 has a dark treble section which hides some sound info unlike the more detailed Astrum. ESTs are more obvious too.

The Soundstage is notably wider and taller with EST80, but less deep and clean.

Imaging is superior with Astrum even if not as holographic in multi layering.

All in all, I prefer the warmer and beefier musicality of EST80 because of how awake it’s macro dynamic and how holographic it sounds, you feel more in the middle of the jam than more balanced to warm neutral Astrum. Both are great IEM but I find EST80 more engaging and fun sounding, prefer mids timbre too which is less dry, wish treble has as much sound info but would miss this extra ESTs spice on top that add another dimension to rich warm soundscape.

VS Hiby Zeta (1DD4BA4EST-1300$)

Zeta is more U shape in balance, notch brighter and crisper in resolution and more open sounding, it’s bassier too.

The bass is more resonant and has greater sub bass boost which deliver longer but thinner rumble release, it feel a bit more boomy and mid bass isn’t as round and textured, you get wider slam but less well defined punch, it’s more excited in transient and less elastic in control, less cohesive with other drivers too (not as natural warmth transition)

Mids are thinner, sharper and dryer in presence but have a more open stage and more air around it, greater sense of transparency for multi-layering. Vocals are more prompt to sibilance, more shouty for upper harmonic, tone isn’t as natural and fully bodied. Note weight is lighter but attacks faster, edgier. Astrum has smoother mids, with wider lusher presence, but not as crisp rendering.

Treble is more aggressive with Zeta, more prompt to cymbals splashyness too, oddly you don’t have this clean delicate brilliance of Astrum, attack is more edgy and crunchy, micro details are more upfront, overall micro dynamic more energetic but more loose in attack release too.

The Soundstage is wider and deeper, since their less warmth and more scooped lower mids stage is more recessed but cleaner.

Imaging is brighter thus easier to read with Zeta.

All in all, tonal balance is more natural and musical with Astrum and you don’t have this dry grainy timbre too, nor sibilance issue. At half the price of Zeta it’s evident it delivers better sound value.

VS HISENIOR MEGA5EST (1dd2ba2est-550$)

Ok, this will be an hard fight for Astrum cause those tribrid with EST are very competitively priced at 550$ and technicality is a notch superior, tuning is more U shape, less warm, sharper, cleaner and crisper as well as more open sounding and airy, overall less mid centric than smoother more organic balance of Astrum.

The bass isn’t as round and weighty in mid bass which is flatter, cleaner and even speedier but without tactility and definition and weight of Astrum. Sub bass is more boosted and has deeper and longer extension, it’s not as dense and vibrant as Astrum so for instruments like cello it will be less lush, dryer and thinner while for double bass attack release will be longer and cleaner with EST5.

Mids are more open and transparent, crisper and lighter, not shoutier so less smooth and colored than Astrum, saxo can sound a bit boxy with EST5 while it’s wider lusher with Astrum, attack has more bite and agility with EST5, stage is cleaner and deeper, note weight is lighter, their less attack sustain yet transient is sharper and attack release cleaner longer. Overall mids are more clinical with EST5, you’re less close to instrument fullness and lower mid range don’t feed harmonic as much too.

Highs are airier, snappier and sparklier with EST5, the EST is more active and micro dynamic less damped. So, the sense of speed for percussion is greater, attack has cleaner bite to it, it sounds more stereophonic too, more 3D and spacious on top.

The soundstage is wider and deeper, but not as tall as Astrum.

Imaging is again superior, I can see people using EST5 for monitoring purposes, I don’t for Astrum.

All in all, this comparison just underlines how competitive is the technical performance of Mega5EST, but tonality isn’t as lush and mid centric and upper mids sharpness can be a deal breaker for some. Vocals are more intimate and natural and less thin with Astrum, mid bass too is superior. If you listen to instrumental music like classical, folk, jazz, Mega5EST is the one to choose, but for more modern music or anything vocal or mid centric, Astrum is notably more musical and less cold in rendering.

CONCLUSION

The BGVP Astrum did achieve the sound flavor it promise which is a calm, intimate and immersive one. It solidify my confidence in this company potential that mature alot with time and improve so much in their tonal balance.

If you were thinking BGVP can’t achieve a smooth natural tonality with inoffensive yet well focused mid range and capable bass and treble that add notch of non agressive macro dynamic energy, think again because this is their smoothest IEM offering ever and most likely most cohesive too when it come to multi-drivers offering.

If like me you too often find piano recessed, thin or weight less, Astrum will deliver you the lush mid range you were wishing for, from saxo to vocal to cello to violin, it all sound both realistic and natural, with well dosed lower harmonic coloring that embodied their presence beautifully.

In fact, when an IEM is too well balanced, it go into liquid cohesion that make my reviewer work harder, i truely struggle to pin point cons with those and the one i found are in fact tuning choice. So, apart soundstage and imaging that aren’t boosted it’s a near perfect tuning balance, something like a less dull souding Letshuoer Mystic8 with proper bass response and more sparkly treble.

Yet, in term of musicality appeal, i prefer more awaken and 3D macro dynamic, so this is to be taken in account for those like me.

But when I try to be as objectivist as I can: The BGVP Astrum just earn applause and is highly suggested for both bass and mid range lover that still want their highs to be revealing enough, just don’t be lazy in hearing curiosity and you will be able to fully enjoy soundscape richness of those Astrum.

Oh….and if you are into jewellery and materialistic fetichism, the accessories and spectacular storing box will certainly raise the price value of whole product experience! I’m insensitive to this on the long run, but when i unbox those Astrum….i feel like a kid going to Santa Claus event. It was that magical!

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PS: I want to thanks BGVP for sending me this review unit that will now take part of my big IEMs collection. I’m not affiliated to this company, don’t earn any $ and they will discover this review at same time as you.

You can order the Astrum for 700$ directly from their official website here:
https://www.bgvp-hifi.com/product/bgvp-astrum-6-driver-est-hybrid-iem/