Brainwavz Alara

Fun, fun and more fun. Say hello to Brainwavz Alara with a Planar magnetic driver priced at 499USD.



Sound quality for the price
Rating: 7 out of 10.
Build quality
Rating: 8 out of 10.
Value
Rating: 6 out of 10.

Packaging



Brainwavz is a Chinese company, but this time it isn’t making any feeling of cheapness. Box itself looks great, it has graphics of the headphone on the front and on both sides. Inside the box with Alara you’ll find a hard case similar to the smaller one attached to their earphones and the cable terminated with 3,5mm TRS jack on each end. The case is well made, with sachet for the cable inside.

Cable

The cable is covered with nylon, it is very soft, nice to the touch and it has the same thickness all along. There’s no microphone effect, in overall it is of pretty high quality regarding sound and handcrafting. It is terminated with 3,5mm jack with thread for 6,35mm jack. The rubber part of the connector is stiff, so I’m not sure if it will protect the cable at all.

Build quality

Build quality was never merited for Brainwavz. Alara is made better than HM5, but still, it creaks while rotating the earcups which also runs down under it owns weight. The headband is well made and really soft. It is nice to the touch, and so are the hybrid pads. I love their design, but details mentioned before are irritating a bit.

Comfort

Alara is a pretty heavy headphone, it weights 430g but I don’t feel this on my head. It is very comfortable, but there’s a problem with their size. When Sivga Phoenix was too small for big heads, Alara isn’t made for small heads. Phoenix isn’t comfortable even on the biggest possible option when Alaras is set on the first click from 8 possible. Pads are of very high quality, of course not on the Audeze level, but I’m pretty sure that everyone in the audiophile community heard about Brainwavz Pads at least once. The attached pads are hybrid, with the velour on the part which sticks to the skin, and leather all around.

Sound

Brainwavz Alara is standing opposite to Sundara and Monolith M1070 in this price range. Compared to them Alara is less detailed and the sound signature is totally different. Alaras are natural and smooth (except treble), with a great body of the sound. It is also very easy to drive, even with portable sources.

The bass is rich, with very good dynamics, powerful punch and ability to shake the headphone. I think it’s the deepest bass I’ve heard on planars under 1k USD, it doesn’t cover mids, and perfectly beats a beat. It’s perfect for fun lovers. It’s not fast as a hypercar, but also isn’t slow as a snail. It’s just natural, but heavy enriched.

The midrange is warm, lush and comfy to listen to. Details are on a lower level than Sundara, but better than Audioquest Nighthawk. Vocals are awesome, lower male ones are thick and formidable. Higher male and female vocals are hypnotizing and charming, they sound so sweet with a delicate smoothness. It reminds me of the times when grandma was singing cradlesongs, that’s an amazing feeling.

Treble is really natural, it doesn’t try to be on the front, but also doesn’t hide in the shadows. It’s very detailed, without signs of sharpness. I would say it’s clicky and fast, but a little too dull. For example, bells are flat, when usually I can hear their shape, treble just doesn’t feel if it would really like to give something from itself, it is playing accurate and properly, but I’m missing some anchor point.

The soundstage is pretty narrow, it’s deep but mixed, without any stability, I can’t rely on them during gaming sessions, they bluffed me several times. Sometimes I heard things at two o’clock, but the sound should come from four o’clock so it was really confusing. Imaging also isn’t the best one, I think this part is an Achilles heel of the Alara. Pity, because it limits their potential by a big margin.

Summary

Brainwavz Alara is a decend headphone, with natural sound, deep bass, powerful strike, sweet higher vocals and compelling lower ones. They are also very comfortable, but only if you have a bigger head than a typical one. Nonetheless, imaging and soundstage are misleading, if you’re a fan of an exact and wide soundstage, it’s not the product for you. Anyway, for fun lovers, it’s a good option to check and listen to. When they’re running for 350$ on sale, i’d call that a good deal. For retail though, i find the Alara uncompetitive.

Gear used during this review for the sake of comparison and as an accompanying equipment:

• Headphones – Fidelio X2HR, Audio-Technica AD900X, Monoprice Monolith M1570, Hifiman Sundara, Audioquest Nighthawk
• Source – DX3 Pro, D50s, Hip-Dac, Little Dot MK IV, iBasso DX160, iFi IDSD Micro Black Label, Zen Dac, FiiO M11

Remember to visit us at ear-fidelity.com

Planar Magnetic Bass - Brainwavz Alara Headphones



Brainwavz Alara is the first Planar Magnetic Headphone from Brainwavz, a company that's quite well-known to both music enthusiasts and consumers, for always having some comfortable products, making some of the best earpads in the world, as well as Bluetooth IEMs and more. The Price for Alara is about 400 USD at the moment of writing this review, from 500 USD at the moment of its launch.




Introduction

Brainwavz is a larger company, with a few legacy products, like their HM5 headphones. They are known for providing excellent build quality and reliability, along with excellent customer support. Brainwavz is also doing efforts to reach the music enthusiast community, organizing demos and tours of their products, appreciating honest input from their fans. I fully recommend working with Brainwavz if you like reliability and support. Also, since I've been a bit on vacation with my family for Easter, you'll see more reviews, including reviews on HM100 from Brainwavz very soon. Don't forget to also comment on the review if you have questions, the bug that didn't allow you to comment has been sorted out.

It should be noted that I have absolutely no affiliation with Brainwavz, I am not receiving any incentive for this review or to sweeten things out. This review is not sponsored nor has been paid for by Brainwavz or anyone else. I'd like to thank Brainwavz for providing the sample for this review. The sample was provided along with Brainwavz's request for an honest and unbiased review. This review reflects my personal experience with Brainwavz Alara. Every opinion expressed is mine and I stand by it, the purpose of this review is to help those interested in Brainwavz Alara find their next music companion.



About me

https://www.audiophile-heaven.com/p/about.html



Packaging

First things first, let's get the packaging out of the way:













Brainwavz is actually one company to create and design more interesting packages, compared to those who prefer to offer a simpler package. Alara comes in a cardboard box, and inside it you can find Alara, packaged inside their carrying case. It is really nice to see a carrying case with a Planar magnetic Headphone, because some folks, like me, do tend to take those on the go as well.

Inside the package you can also find a longer audio cable, a set of spare pads, and a little strap, if you'd want to take their carrying case as a shoulder bag.

There is also a 3.5mm to 6.3mm adapter included in the package.

The fun thing about the cable is that it looks both trustworthy, but it is also ended in a 3.5mm connector, which I see as an advantage, Alara is easy to drive and most people are most probably going to be using sources and amplifiers that have a 3.5mm output rather than a 6.3mm one.




Alara is easily within the top packages for headphones at the 500 USD price range, they come with everything you could require for you to enjoy them, along with a set of high quality spare pads, which means that you won't need to reach out to brainwavz for years to purchase a new set, as their earpads are also known to be fairly reliable.



What to look in when purchasing a midrange Planar Magnetic Headphone

https://www.audiophile-heaven.com/p/what-to-lookl.html



Technical Specifications





Build Quality/Aesthetics/Fit/Comfor

Starting with the build quality, Alara is quite a bit heavier than you might expect, as it is made of metal. The cups have a bit of swivel, which allows for a good amount of adjustment, although if you have a really small head, Alara may be a touch on the big side, even at its minimum size setting.



The aesthetics and looks of Alara are on the edgy and industrial side, and as a metalhead I can totally appreciate that, they look like the kind of headphone you'd want to take out on a walk. They are open though, and they won't isolate you from the outside noise, and they will leak quite a bit, although sometimes, if you're out on a walk, you may want an open-back headphone, just so that you can be a bit more aware of what's going on around you.

To be fair, Alara isn't quite as open as Sundara or Jade II for example, so you may get away with using them while someone else is in the same room, if you were using low volumes. Similarly, they do provide a few dBs of passive isolation, but they're still not closed-back headphones.



The cups are incredibly comfortable, and so is the entire headphone, they are basically designed with comfort in mind, the clamping force is just right so that they don't feel tight nor loose, the cups are soft and nice to the touch, and they don't make you sweat even after hours of wearing Alara, and the headband has a bit of soft padding on the inside, making the entire headphone rather comfortable.

The Planar technology inside is designed nicely, and you can notice that the headphones themselves are more protected than a good number of planars, so alara was designed with both indoors and outdoors usage in mind, as they won't take in dust or debris easily.

The cables are attached to the cups via two 3.5mm jacks, making aftermarket cables really easily to locate and purchase, as a large number of headphones rely on those connectors, including HIFIMAN sundara, and Meze 99 Classics. The default cable is on the long and thick side for portability.

The weight of Alara is on the heavier side, they are quite a bit heavier than Sundara, (which is its main competitor considering the price), and about as heavy as Verum One (which is another direct competitor in this price range, and also an open-back planar magnetic headphone).



Alara is on the easier to drive part side of things, as they can easily be driven well from a FiiO M6 or so, but they appreciate a better source, like a QLS QA361 or iBasso DX200, scaling quite well with the source.

Overall, thebuild quality, comfort and aesthetics of Alara are all excellent and it is a headphone that both looks awesome and feels awesome, they are designed beautifully, and they are comfortable, they are reliable and you could use them as your main headphone, even when going outside.



Sound Quality

The signature of Alara can be described as thick, lush, fun, smooth, at least in the top end, impactful, deep, rumbling, clean, clear, wide and well separated. The overall sound feels very natural and coherent, musical, and flows well, especially when it comes to its bass, which reminds easily of the Audeze kind of high-quality planar bass. A more intimate soundstage paired with a good amount of instrument separation makes Alara sound natural, lush, yet clear and easy to recommend to both those looking for a really fun signature, but also those who tend to appreciate detail. There are two peaks, one at 4 kHz and one around 8kHz, both of which bring the vocals closer to the listener, but also highlight detail and clarity of Alara.



The bass is deep and reaches low quite well, has a good amount of rumble, and is enhanced considerably above what I'd call neutral. In fact, Alara is one of the deepest and most powerful in the bass planar magnetic headphones, besides Audeze, and considering the price of Alara of 500 USD, they are really convincing if you're a basshead, or if you appreciate a good amount of impact. The bass also has an uplift at the 100 Hz area, which gives sound both a nice amount of thickness and authority, and which paints a bit of weight to each musical note in midrange as well. The overall bass is fast though, but it is also natural in speed.

The midrange is sweet and slightly forward, with a more intimate soundstage. Since Alara has two bumps, one at around 4kHz and one around 8kHz, both the main midrange body and the upper midrange feel uplifted a bit, but Alara manages to keep a nice amount of instrument separation and depth, providing a nice imaging as well. You can totally tell layers from each other, and you can feel the finer details in your music, actually the rather intimate soundstage and more forward midrange being good for revealing more fine details in your music. For orchestral and classical music, Alara is a true master, tonality and tune of all instruments is very natural, and Alara works well for female voices. Male voices also have the proper thickness and power they require, and guitar solos feel forward and truly lead a song.

The treble of Alara is on the natural side, but the decay is slightly short and they are not overly splashy, rather being slightly on the dry type. I tend to prefer a more splashy presentation usually, but Alara works well with brighter sources, and softer or more splashy sources, like the QLS QA 361, where Alara feels spot-on. On the other hand, with smoother sources, Alara may be too smooth and have a bit too little treble energy, unless you prefer a more lean and smooth approach, situation in which you're set for fun, as I found Alara to not be fatiguing nor harsh in the treble. Percussion has proper snap and feels natural, with most songs, but Alara's treble has a tendency to depend more on the source material (for example, IE800 from Sennheiser tends to color all treble to its own sound, where Alara tends to render the source material more as it was recorded than color the source material with its own flavour).

The dynamics on Alara are very good, and in line with other similarly priced headphones, like Sundara, but this is when both are driven from the same source. Overall, it is a bit easier for Alara to get dynamic with more entry-level sources, where Sundara is harder to drive.

Overall, if you're looking for a thicker, more natural, dynamic, and midrange-forward sound, with a natural treble, Alara ticks those boxes quite nicely.



Portable Usage

Alara is half-portable and half-desktop, at least to me. They are easier to drive than Sundara, and they are more comfortable, provided you have a head that's on the slightly larger side. On the other hand, Alara still isn't quite as easy to drive as something like Ultrasone Signature DXP, which would be a true portable.



On the oher hand, Alara does not isolate from the outside noise, but it is very well built and dust will not get inside, since they have high quality grilles protecting the inner parts. The default cables are a bit long for portable usage, but aftermarket cables that are shorter and more flexible are really easy to find.

You may even find some beautiful sights while exploring the world and wearing Alara...



Overall, they are an open back headphone, and they are not drive-able from a smartphone, at all, neither volume wise, nor in terms of sonic quality, but a DAP like FiiO M6 can make Alara sing pretty nicely.



Comparisons

Alara has three main enemies in this price range, and which it will be considered against, and those are HIFIMAN Sundara(500 USD or 350 USD while on sale), Verum One (350 USD), and Sennheiser HD650 (350 USD at the moment of writing this review).







Brainwavz Alara vs Sennheiser HD650 - Well, the package is pretty similar, but the build quality is sensibly better on Alara, with a full metallic build, and better ear pads included from the factory, and with two pairs of them included in the package. This being said, although HD650 is more tight on the head, Alara is actually a bit too loose for small heads, so HD650 wins in terms of comfort, especially for those with a smaller head, Alara is just too large on the smallest setting for those with a small head. The sound, is more thick, has more deep bass rumble and impact on Alara, has a similar soundstage on both, has similar details, although Alara is a bit better separated and a bit better with musical note weight. To me, HD650 has always been the slightly veiled one, where I liked HD600 better for their almost perfect midrange. There are multiple versions on the market, so I can only talk about the ones I heard. The treble is a tricky thing, both are on the smooth side, HD650 has a slightly better detail and fine detail in the treble, where Alara is simply more smooth and has a simpler overall treble presentation. Alara is better if you like a deep impact and more rumble, it has more weight to each musical note, and a thicker sound. The soundstage is more intimate on both headphones, though Alara is easier to drive than HD650, but both are well made. HD650 is lighter, but it is less portable than Alara, being hard to drive, being more of a desktop headphone. HD650 is the better choice for a more traditional headphone, or if you have a really beefy or high-end Amplification available, as they scale quite well.

Brainwavz Alara vs Verum One - Here is where the fun starts, because you can find Alara at more or less the same price as Verum One, Alara goes often on sale, and there are coupon codes, like "HEADFI", and both become 350 USD, but with Verum One, there's a waiting time of about 6 weeks, while Alara is a headphone you can get quite on the spot. Now, the package is much better on Alara, as Verum One has no package to speak of. On the other hand, Alara also comes with two sets of pads. The pads are more comfortable, and full leather on Verum One, and Verum One can adapt much better for any size for a head, where Alara only works for medium and larger sized heads. The comfort is better on Verum One, they have a softer headband, softer pads, they are simply more comfortable. Alara has a better default cable, Verum One's cable is a bit too thin to feel trusty, but mine didn't broke. You can take Alara on-the-go, while with Verum One, despite their very low impedance, and good SPL, you cannot take Verum One On-The-Go, the cat ears aesthetic they have is simply not fit for outdoors usage. As such, Verum One is pretty much strictly a desktop headphone, and I'm a Visual Novel studio director, I don't mind having cat ears, but verum one is a bit more than I'd take outside, in Bucharest, while with Alara I'd have no issues. Verum one is better at extremely high SPLs, they can get considerably louder, if you have a source that can manage their low impedance well, they can get your source in current overdrive easily, while Alara has no such issues. The overall sound is similar in the bass, but Verum One has an even better impact and depth, an even more clear midrange, and an even larger soundstage. On the other hand, Alara has a thicker, smoother and more laid-back sound overall, it is easier to listen to for long hours, and Alara is more forward in the midrange, if you like a more intimate feel to your sound. Verum One is clearly a good desktop headphone, but it was able to get most of my portables into current overdrive, and it was able to do that even to some high-end desktop DAC/AMPs, because its real impedance is around 8 omhs. On the other hand, Alara works with pretty much any portable, and it is easier to use, it is lighter when it comes to its weight, and you can take Alara on-the-go, while Verum One you probably won't want to.

Brainwavz Alara vs HIFIMAN Sundara - Sundara is pretty much the opposite to Alara, sonically, but actually it is an interesting comparison. Starting with the build and comfort, Sundara is more universal, works better with any size of a head, Sundara has better comfort and better overall fit, and Sundara is lighter than Alara. But Sundara's cable feels less in quality than the one of Alara. Also, Alara comes with a spare set of pads while Sundara doesn't. In fact, Alara even comes with a carrying case, while Sundara doesn't (neither does HD650 nor Verum One). The accessory list and build quality of Alara surely feels nice. Alara is considerably easier to drive than Sundara, and you need something like DX220 + AMP7, or QLS QA361 to truly take advantage of Sundara, while Alara will work just fine and sound amazingly good even from a tiny FiiO M6. On the other hand, the sound is very different, and you'll either take a liking to one, or the other. Sundara is lighter, more nimble, more splashy in the treble, and more articulate, with better resolution and revealing abilities, but less body to music. Sundara can truly shine with a proper source, but will sound flat-ish and average from even good sources, is picky with its source. Alara sounds thick, lush, deep, rumbly, impactful and powerful. Sundara has a wider soundstage, while Alara is more intimate. Alara is smooth, where Sundara is splashy and more bright. I'll be honest, Sundara is closer to my personal preference, but for those who want a thick, lush, experience, with a more intimate soundstage, and with a more authority, Alara is quite amazing, and I have many friends who ordered a pair of Alara instead of getting a Sundara.



Recommended Pairings

Alara is easy to pair, not overly picky with its source, and needs not quite that much power. Also, it scales fairly well with the source, but you could drive it from an ultra-portable and be very happy.



Brainwavz Alara + FiiO M6 - FiiO M6 is pretty much the dream small form factor DAP from what I've tested to date, at least if you're trying to stay within the most conservative budget you can, as there are other options, even from FiiO that have a better sound, but M6 wins hard in what a DAP that has Tidal, is small, portable, cute, and has a good sound can be. M6 tends to have a more digital and analytical overall sound, which is more neutral and a bit cold, and this actually compliments well the warm and thick sound of Alara, making them more neutral and more balanced on an overall level.

Brainwavz Alara + Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ - If you have the chance to listen to Alara with a high-end DAC/AMP, you'll understand just how high their potential can be. Brooklyn DAC+ is one of the best to prove that with a really good source, you can have a much larger soundstage, better separation, better dynamics and just an amazing overall sound. Of course, Alara is very enjoyable with portables as well, but they also scale if you're willing to invest a bit in the source feeding them.

Brainwavz Alara + iBasso DX150 (AMP7) - Adding AMP7 to any of the iBasso DAPs that are compatible is going to be a huge upgrade for you, and I mean really huge. I was absolutely blown away when I first heard AMP7 with Sundara, and once again, when I heard it with Alara, I was just as impressed. Overall, the sound of DX150 with AMP7 is very natural, but punchy, dynamic and clear, clean, pretty much what you'd expect from a flagship DAP. DX150 can also handle Tidal and Streaming, if that's your cup of tea. DX150 is able to drive Alara in big style, and creates one of the most fun experiences with it, with a really deep, punchy, dynamic and clear sound. The soundstage is also rather large, and everything feels alive.



Value and Conclusion

Alara has been really fun to listen to and review, and they are a headphone you are probably considering. Considering that they are around 350 USD and often go on sale, their price and value is excellent, they are very much in line with other Planar Magnetic Headphones in this price range.



The package of Alara is better than most headphones in this price range actually, and they are also built really well, a full metallic build, with soft large pads, and with a really beautiful aesthetic, especially if you're into industrial-looking headphones. Unfortunately, if you have a small head, they may not be the best fit, but otherwise, they should also be very comfortable.

The sound is excellent even out of a portable, and they're easier to drive than their direct competitors like Sundara, also having a very different overall tuning and signature. Alara is very thick and lush, deep and impactful, but also pretty smooth in the treble, and Alara brings the voices closer to the listener, leading to a more intimate listening experience and giving you a very natural tonality for the voices.



If you're looking for a well-made planar magnetic headphone in the ~400 USD price range, with a thick, lush and clear sound, good impact, dynamics and depth, you should totally check out Alara, and don't forget to follow what sales are going on, as they are so often included in deals that you're surely going to get a sweet deal, if you keep an eye on them.



Full Playlist used for this review

While we listened to considerably more songs than those named in this playlist, those are excellent for identifying certain aspects of the sound, like PRaT, Texturization, Detail, Resolution, Dynamics, Impact, and overall tonality. We recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you're searching for new most, most of them being rather catchy.

Tidal Playlist

https://tidal.com/playlist/64555551-ec3c-4279-ae44-248fdfcf6c4b

Song List

Bats - Gamma Ray Burst: Second Date
Eskimo Callboy - Frances
Incubus - Summer Romance
Electric Six - Dager! High Voltage
Kishida Cult - High School Of The Dead
Dimmu Borgir - Dimmu Borgir
Breaking Benjamin - I Will Not Bow
Thousand Foot Krutch - The Flame In All Of Us
Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc.
Infected Mushroom - Song Pong
Attack Attack - Kissed A Girl
Doctor P - Bulletproof
Maximum The Hormone - Rock n Roll Chainsaw
Rob Zombie - Werewolf, Baby!
Escape The Fate - Gorgeous Nightmare
SOAD - Chop Suey
Ken Ashcorp - Absolute Territory
Machinae Supremacy - Need For Steve
Ozzy Osbourne - I Don't Wanna Stop
Crow'sclaw - Loudness War
Eminem - Rap God
Stromae - Humain À L'eau
Sonata Arctica - My Selene
Justin Timberlake - Sexy Back
Metallica - Fuel
Veil Of Maya - Unbreakable
Masa Works - Golden Japang
REOL - Luvoratorrrrry
Dope - Addiction
Korn - Word Up!
Papa Roach - ... To be Loved
Fever The Ghost - Source
Fall Out Boy - Immortals
Green Day - Know The Enemy
Mindless Self Indulgence - London Bridge
A static Lullaby - Toxic
Royal Republic - Addictive
Astronautalis - The River, The Woods
We Came As Romans - My Love
Skillet - What I Believe
Man With A Mission - Smells Like Teen Spirit
Yasuda Rei - Mirror
Mojo Juju - Must Be Desire
Falling Up - Falling In Love
Manafest - Retro Love
Rodrigo Y Grabriela - Paris
Zomboy - Lights Out
Muse - Resistance
T.A.T.U & Rammstein - Mosaku
Grey Daze - Anything, Anything
Katy Perry - Who Am I Living For
Maroon 5 - Lucky Strike
Machinae Supremacy - Killer Instinct
Pendulum - Propane Nightmares
Sirenia - Lithium And A Lover
Saving Abel - Addicted
Hollywood Undead - Levitate
The Offspring - Special Delivery
Escape The Fate - Smooth
Samsara Blues Experiment - One With The Universe
Dope - Rebel Yell
Crazy Town - Butterfly
Silverstein - My Heroine

I hope my review is helpful to you!

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Contact me!













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These headphones were provided by brainwavz as a part of Alara review tour and have now been sent back to Brainwavz. I want to thank Brainwavz for providing this opportunity and thanks also to Dobrescu George for helping to organize the tour.

Whats in the box?

Box that the headphones are housed in is surprisingly small. Here it is next to a hifiman box that has more common size for a fullsize headphones.
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Carry case provided looks also tiny. Dimensions to fit the headphones are perfect.




They come with extra set of earpads and a strap which I suppose is for carrying the case.


There is of course the detachable cable and 6.3mm adapter.




Build quality and comfort


They're heavy. Planar tech and lots of metal. Edges on the cups are quite sharp but not sharp enough to cut you. I think it might have been intentional move to make those so sharp because the look is bit plasticky but those sharp edges remind you are holding a piece made of solid metal. So very cool.


Immaculate attention to detail





Earpads are pleather on the outside, perforated on the inside and average quality ”velour” on the top. Very much like on hifiman he400i. Brainwavz pads on top and HE400i at the bottom.



Pads are a bit slim and not very responsive. Quite funny how a company that is known for their great earpads can't provide similar quality pads with their headphones. It was the same with HM100. Good thing they provide two sets of pads. Some users might want to remove the connector ring and replace the pads with better ones. That connector ring is genious by the way. It makes replacing the pads very easy and fast. There is no twisting, bending or wondering if you aligned them properly. Hifiman and some other manufacters should take a note!





Cable is very basic. Double entry 3.5mm to 3.5mm with a screw on adaptar. It does look nice and lack of propretiary connectors always makes me happy. If that cable is available for purchase seperately, I might get one for my Onkyo A800.



Yokes are of plastic. Headband is covered with pleather. There are no markers on the headband retractor which is always a shame but not uncommon. On top of the headband there is the brainwavz logo.



So let's talk about the headband little more because it is something truly special. Unfortunately in a negative way. The headband is huge! I wear the headphones with about 0,5cm extended or not at all. I have about average size male head. My wife can't use these at all. These don't fit my mini dsp H.E.A.R.S measuring system without putting something between the headband and the headrest part.





Because of the weight and large headband I don't get the grip I'd like. Alara's feel a bit loose on my head.

I find such a design fault quite problematic. It is hard to perfect sound or reach ultimate comfort. What is not hard is making a headband of proper size. This is just poor engineering or plain not care at all attitude. I't makes me think if they can't do the easy things right how are they going to deal with more demanding issues. Brainwavz hm100 has a common problem with loose headband adjuster. Please get the headband right next time. This is pretty ridiculous.


Sound quality


Bass.. Oh, yes! These have definately the best bass I have heard amongst inexpensive planars. Bass has similar body, weight and extension as LCD-3. Alara's play fast guitar notes with defination and can still fill the space with rumbling sub bass without becoming a mess. Individual sources of bass are clearly apparent with minimal blending. I must say I was not expecting to hear bass like this. If I only had one headphone and it had a bass like this, I would not mind at all.

So lets take a quick look on the measured frequency response. Channel balance is quite good. It is mostly within 2db. It's no Sennheiser HD800 but better than most headphones at this price range.




There is a clear drop from 1khz to 2.5khz. That is quite common, especially for a planar but what I find problematic is that response is quite low up to 10khz. Maybe a headphone with a better resolving powers could pull that off but sadly, Alara's can't. End result is plain sound with lacking dynamics and faulty timbre. One of my favorite headphones, iBasso SR1's, has similar upper mid/highs response but sounds just splendid...and ironically extremely dynamic. So it is not just the tuning that is the problem here. There is something else I just can't put my finger on.

About the timbre... Think of an instrument that should have a metallic tone. Some sort of a metallic maracas for example. Alara's will make it sound more like a washboard instrument. There is this wooden or perhaps plasticky tone partly because of lacking 2khz-7khz area.

Tchaikovsky's violen concerto sounds plain. Guns 'N' Roses "November Rain" has no pompous epic presentation that it is known for. Mids and highs are quite a lackluster compared to the bass that is propably best one can get for $500.

So what's good about Alara's sound, besides the excellent bass. I have to bring up the imaging qualities. Soundstage is quite small, even for a low(ish) end planar but the imaging is very accurate. I had a thought that this is what Sennheiser HD800 imaging would be like, if it were shrunk to pocket size.


About amplifiers

Most of the time I used Alara's with Chord Mojo attached to my cellphone playing Tidal. Most of the critical listening was done with high quality files using Hegel HD10 as a dac and SPL Phonitor and Burson Soloist for amps. I'd love to say something more "professional" like how Soloist emphasizes regions from x-y but bass sounds tubby and Phonitor has better spatial cues and better control off the drivers which translates into emphasized 2xΔ. But to my ears; They all sound the same. Alara's need SOME external amplification but they're not particularly picky about it.

Comparisons

Lets make a few quick comparisons against the planars I have at hand and also Ollo S4 as it has similar dark(ish) tonality and Sennheiser HD650 as it is propably the most used reference headphone ever.




Brainwavz Alara vs Hifiman Sundara



Sundara has been applauded for it's build quality. Surely it is an upgrade over previous hifimans but next to Alara it does look and feel like a bare prototype. There is no contest there. However because of Alara's over sized headband, sundaras are a lot more comfortable.

When looking at the measurement Alara's superb bass is again obvious. Sundara's are clearly brighter sounding headphones. Sundaras have a lot bigger soundstage, allmost equal imaging, better timbral balance and proper dynamics. For me Sundaras are better sounding headphones.



Brainwavz Alara vs Hifiman HE560



HE560 I have is new version. It is V3 to my knowledge. As far as I know all the new versions have the same drivers as the original one. Build quality comparison is a bit useless here. HE560 V3 is basically the same as Sundara but V3 has plastic cups and lesser quality earpads. Obviously Alara is in different class.

HE560 does better in the bass department than Sundara. However bass on Alara is still better. Like said before, I find bass on Alara truly exceptional. It is more in the range of $2000 Audeze's than with $500 Hifiman's. HE560 can sound painfully bright even, but it can be tamed with proper amping. Alara and HE560 are complete opposites with their treble presentations. If I had to choose I would take the overly bright highs on HE560 because of proper timbre. HE560 is pretty much sounds like sundara with more V-shaped soundsignature so it is no surprise I prefer HE560 over Alara.


Brainwavz Alara vs Hifiman HE400i



So when we move a step down in hifiman's (discontinued) product range we get HE400i. HE400i is built out of cheaper materials than HE560 so comparison against alara is pointless. HE400i is ridiculously cheap though these days. New ones can be had for $199 and used ones cost close to nothing.

HE400i sounds much like unrefined HE560 with lacking bass. There is a steep change in sound quality between HE560 and HE400i. What is sadder for Alara is that I rather take HE400i over them. HE400i is quite bass light, especially for a planar but it has decent (not good) soundstage, good clarity and proper timbre. All of which Alara's lack.



Brainwavz Alara vs Ollo S4



I can't get a fresh measurement of the Ollo's right now as my rig started acting up. Here is however old measurement I've made. Don't get confused as it has the Audioquest Nighthawk chart in it too.

Ollo is a tad bit darker headphone than Alara's but Ollos still maintain all the details and dynamics. Infact S4 is one of the most dynamically engaging headphones I've heard. It is quite spectacular in that sense. Ollo's have a lush relaxing but detailed sound where as Alara sounds boring in comparion. S4's are bassy and I love their bass presentation. However once again, from technical perspective Alara's bass can't be matched.

Both are built great. Ollo with more retro touch and Alara has more industrial look. I prefer Ollo's but it is up to taste as both are top notch.

Brainwavz Alara vs Sennheiser HD650



HD650 feels plasticy in comparison. Luxurious build materials are not what have kept them among most favored headphones through couple of decades.


Looking at the graph there are quite a bit tonal similarities. Sennheiser does however "fix" the issues what Alara has. And it's not just about the frequency response. Even though Alara does have somewhat clearer midrange hd650 does sound more refined. Then there is of course the difference in timbre realism. HD650 does have extremely realistic timbre (regardless of price range) and Alara has big troubles in this area.

Conclusions

I have to say, I'm bit sad about all this. Alara's have top notch build quality and superb bass. Lot of thought has went into designing these headphones. Oversized headband and weird treble manage to ruin otherwise fine headphones. Alara's had potential to be a true classic but they fall short in some key areas that make me prefer headphones that cost a lot less. For $499 Alara should deliver more.