[Brooko]

These have just been released today - so good idea to start a thread for impressions and discussion.
 
Below is photo and description from MP4 Nation - where they are currently on a pre-order promotion price
 

 
Product Description:

The Brainwavz BLU-100 are a stylish wireless earphones operating on bluetooth 4.0 and with aptX for enhanced audio quality. The Blu-100 pack powerful dynamic drivers that are able to deliver quality sound that is full bodied with a punchy bass that is not overwhelming to the ears.

Within the housing is a micro 60mAh battery that will delivery 4 hours of continuous audio playback, 100 hours of standby and can be fully charged in under 2hrs. With a range of 30ft (10m), you can use the Blu-100 as close or far away from your audio source, no more long cables or tangles.

The light body design, low profile cable and remote and comfy fit of the earphones also make it versatile while being on the move or active, allowing for the earbuds to stay snug in your ear and not falling out with every move.

The Blu-100 come with Brainwavz signature premium earphone case and also Comply S-400 premium foam tips.

Features:

1. CSRBC8645 Bluetooth 4.0 with aptX codec support
2. Secure, comfortable fit with light weight housing and low profile cable and remote
3. Full bodied sound signature
4. Brainwavz signature earphone case & Comply S-400 tips included.

Specifications:

1. Transducers/Drivers: Dynamic, 8mm
2. Rated Impedance: 30ohms Closed Dynamic
3. Sensitivity: 110dB at 1mW
4. Frequency range: 20 ~ 20000Hz
5. Bluetooth 4.0 (CSRBC8645) with aptX
6. Operation max distance: 30ft (10m)
7. Battery: 60mAh - 4hrs playtime, 100hrs standby, 2hrs for full charge (Micro USB charging)
8. CVC echo and noise cancellation
9. Supports voice prompt for MMI: Power on - Paring - Connecting - Battery low - Power off
10. Supports HFP, HSP and A2DP
11. Supports pairing with two devices at the same time
12. 3 button remote, works with Apple iOS products, Android & Windows phones & PC
13. 1 year warranty

Included Accessories (note this is current - could change):

1. 1 x Comply foam tips
2. 3 x Pairs of ear tips (S/M/L)
3. 1 x Silicone ear clip
4. 1 x Micro USB cable for charging
5. 1 x Hard carrying case
6. 1 x Instruction manual
7. 1 x Warranty card

 

[Brooko]

My review has just been posted.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/products/brainwavz-blu-100-bluetooth-iems/reviews/13091
 
Interested to see other impressions as others get a chance to sample them.

 

[mark2410]

hey there, thats my review of them now up too.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/766115/brainwavz-blu-100-review-by-mark2410

 

[dragon2knight]

Well....as I seem to agree with Brooko's review almost completely, and my review was an almost carbon copy, I'll just put up my impressions as well as what I disagreed with here as there is no need for almost the same reviews to be posted on here.
 
First off, unlike Brooko, I have quite a few sets of really low cost(under $30.00, some under $20.00) bluetooth headphones that I have been using for a few years now. They are generally re-branded versions of the same generic over the ear jobs with a snug fitting plastic behind the head band. You can find them almost anywhere, ebay, Amazon, off brand sites, they are pretty popular.The originals were from Coby(yes that Coby,lol), but they have great portability(foldable design), great battery life(around 10-12 hours)and pretty decent build quality. The sound was acceptable for the price paid as well. My only real gripe was the on the ear design as it got pretty uncomfortable after a few hours, but I have that problem with all on the ear headphones I've used. I haven't been able to find a good in ear set of bluetooth phones for a reasonable price---until now.
 
Audrey contacted me and asked me to try out a new set of bluetooth IEM's they had just developed, their first crack at such a device, and I jumped at the opportunity to try 'em out. I have had these BLU-100 IEM's now for a few weeks, and did a thorough burn in followed by over 150 hours of usage(not an easy task with the short battery life---but I'm getting ahead of myself here..). I used a variety of China Android phones, all with bluetooth 4.0 or better capabilities. The main app I used was the paid version of Poweramp(the best, period). This was the reason I'm giving the BLU-100's a good rating, as Poweramp's excellent EQing is the only way to get these to sound better than just average which was my initial impressions of these.
 
First the good:
I agree with Brooko's assessment of the out of the box sound, decent lows, muddy-ish mids and ok highs....but I also must add that I found the sound a bit thin as well, lacking real punch anywhere. It was a little disappointing to be honest. Then I opened up the EQ settings in Poweramp, and holy cow what a difference!! The BLU-100's are the most EQ-able IEM's I believe I've ever tried, no exaggeration. Simply pushing the EQ levers just a click at a time gave me an entirely different signature....I found myself tying all sorts of settings, from pushing the bass to the lowest it could handle to trying to tame the muddy mids, it was all fixed up fine with a bit of lever pushing...really, really nice 

 I honestly think these would satisfy for any type of music, from Hard Rock to Jazz to Opera, just by setting the EQ to what your after. For the price paid for the BLU-100's, that's no small feat. Everything else positive about the BLU-100's see Brooko's review, I agree completely, from the use of the Comply's to the way they fit and the build quality, no need to rehash that here. 
 
Now the Bad:
Battery life. It just plain suck's, sorry for not pulling any punches here, but it really needs to be said. I get just at 3 1/2 hours of use per charge, and that is really bad for a wireless headphone. My personal minimum is 6 hours, as that's what my normal day of listening consists of use wise. The tiny battery just doesn't cut it for anything short of gym use...and the BLU-100's aren't being marketed for that crowd as they aren't water/sweat proof, a prerequisite for extended gym/workout usage.The build quality is great, so they might hold up to such abuse for a little while, but I honestly wouldn't use them for that personally. Also I agree with Brooko, the light used on the controller  is tiny, white and almost un-seeable, it needs to be a brighter color like red. 
 
Don't take my criticism of the battery as a reason to think I hate the BLU-100's, quite the opposite really. I LOVE these....the sound is just so easy to get where I like it, the build quality is great, the little touches like the little voice saying all functions as you use them(like I need another voice inside my head,lol)---it's a great design marred by a tiny, almost useless battery. Improve this, and you've got a fantastic bluetooth IEM with few if any rivals. Knowing Brainwavz, this can and will be fixed somewhere down the line. Come on Audrey, talk to Raz and let him know this, thanks! 

 

[mark2410]

The tiny battery just doesn't cut it for anything short of gym use...and the BLU-100's aren't being marketed for that crowd as they aren't water/sweat proof, a prerequisite for extended gym/workout usage.The build quality is great, so they might hold up to such abuse for a little while, but I honestly wouldn't use them for that personally. Also I agree with Brooko, the light used on the controller  is tiny, white and almost un-seeable, it needs to be a brighter color like red.   
Don't take my criticism of the battery as a reason to think I hate the BLU-100's, quite the opposite really. I LOVE these....the sound is just so easy to get where I like it, the build quality is great, the little touches like the little voice saying all functions as you use them(like I need another voice inside my head,lol)---it's a great design marred by a tiny, almost useless battery. Improve this, and you've got a fantastic bluetooth IEM with few if any rivals. Knowing Brainwavz, this can and will be fixed somewhere down the line. Come on Audrey, talk to Raz and let him know this, thanks! 

 
re the battery, really?  i knowthey havent been pushed at gym use but thats exactly where i see them, that or jogging.  that for me is the singelb biggest environment where the lack of a cable is the most valuable.
 
personally for pretty much anything else id always go with a cable because they just work and removes so much complexity.
 
oh and re the led, yeah tbh i cant say i ever once noticed mine as on, and i even looked so just assumed it was dead.  tbh though it does what anyway.

 

[dragon2knight]

   
re the battery, really?  i knowthey havent been pushed at gym use but thats exactly where i see them, that or jogging.  that for me is the singelb biggest environment where the lack of a cable is the most valuable.
 
personally for pretty much anything else id always go with a cable because they just work and removes so much complexity.
 
oh and re the led, yeah tbh i cant say i ever once noticed mine as on, and i even looked so just assumed it was dead.  tbh though it does what anyway.

Well, wireless has a lot of allure to me, like during the summer months where a wire just gets in the way, or commuting where a wire is just one more thing to have to manage....yes the gym is also ideal, but there are many IEM's, even wireless ones, that are designed for that purpose with protections like the aforementioned waterproof build...these were not. Because of trying to use these like regular wired IEM's(what I think was the real purpose of these)more battery is needed here, period. 

 

[mark2410]

  Well, wireless has a lot of allure to me, like during the summer months where a wire just gets in the way, or commuting where a wire is just one more thing to have to manage....yes the gym is also ideal, but there are many IEM's, even wireless ones, that are designed for that purpose with protections like the aforementioned waterproof build...these were not. Because of trying to use these like regular wired IEM's(what I think was the real purpose of these)more battery is needed here, period. 

well....... i disagree with your conclusion.
 
tbh i suppose once you start to get used to no cable for everyday i could see how it might become highly desirable.  Qi charging for me has been a bit like that.  the number of times ive put the studid iphone down on the little pad and then go, Doh!!
 
but given the shape of the ear i wouldnt have thought that they would exactly get drenched in sweat, enough to actually kill them.  although i am not exactly mr spend 10 hours a day in the gym so im willing to concede on that in theory.  it i suspect will be an issue that can only be definitively answered by people using them that way and seeing what happens.

 

[Brooko]

I'm with Mark on this one.  Although I'd love more battery life - at the moment I pretty much use them for walking or gym work - so the 4 hours is OK.  I'd prefer them to work on comfort over battery life at the moment.  Same everything else - but in an S5 shell, and I'd be a lot happier. 

 

[dragon2knight]

  I'm with Mark on this one.  Although I'd love more battery life - at the moment I pretty much use them for walking or gym work - so the 4 hours is OK.  I'd prefer them to work on comfort over battery life at the moment.  Same everything else - but in an S5 shell, and I'd be a lot happier. 

Agreed on comfort....but I've had a lot worse stuck in my ear. With the Comply's I'm quite comfy using them till their battery dies. A different shape, though, might allow for a bigger battery, so I'm with you on that. The weight/fit of the BLU-100's also makes it not so great for gym use, as it will always be shifting around in your ear, distracting you from your workout. As I've said, these aren't purpose built for that, and ask anyone who works out daily(like me...)and they will tell you the good ones are made for working out from the out. 
 
As you don't have a lot of experience with wireless headsets, my guess is you don't really know what it's like to run out of juice halfway from work to your house....as a frequent user of such devices, I look at battery life first, sound second, build quality third. Fat lot of good a great sounding, well built wireless IEM/headphone is if the battery can't get you home. Same can be said of most Android phones...but at least we can use external battery packs to help here as a charging wire hanging out of a phone isn't that big an inconvenience. An IEM on the other hand...you get my point? Another hour or two(minimum) of battery life would make the BLU-100's a really great deal. As it sits, it's almost a good deal, passable at best for now. Good first effort for sure, I look forward to whatever they come up with next in this category, I'm sure they won't make the same mistake twice 

 

[Brooko]

Oh - I agree that there could and should be improvements.
 
As far as working out goes - I am a regular.  I have to be at my age. Regular walking and jogging.  Gym every 2nd day as well.  The BLU-100 have been my choice-du-jour since I got them.  I just use them and my iPhone.  I don't find them unwieldy at all - just tuck the cable over ear, and have the cord at the back of my neck.
 
Because I only use them for that purpose - the 4 hour battery life isn't really an issue for me.  For everything else, I have my A83, Titans, Altones, Trinity Deltas, Curve etc
 
If Brainwavz could bring out another one in a more ergonomic form, and say a 6-8 hour battery life - then I could see myself using them for other uses than just exercise.

 

[dragon2knight]

  Oh - I agree that there could and should be improvements.
 
As far as working out goes - I am a regular.  I have to be at my age. Regular walking and jogging.  Gym every 2nd day as well.  The BLU-100 have been my choice-du-jour since I got them.  I just use them and my iPhone.  I don't find them unwieldy at all - just tuck the cable over ear, and have the cord at the back of my neck.
 
Because I only use them for that purpose - the 4 hour battery life isn't really an issue for me.  For everything else, I have my A83, Titans, Altones, Trinity Deltas, Curve etc
 
If Brainwavz could bring out another one in a more ergonomic form, and say a 6-8 hour battery life - then I could see myself using them for other uses than just exercise.

Which was my point exactly. I look forward to seeing what comes next from them in this category, these are pretty good as they sit, with the battery being the only real killer for me. I also use full sized headphones myself most of the time these days, but when I travel, I like to go light, and the smaller the better for my purposes. That's what got me into trying out bluetooth IEM's or on ears, so far the only way they come for low cost(under $30.00). I was a bit excited to get these in, guess my expectations were a little too high and I got a bit let down. Again, I'm not saying these are bad by any means, but they need more, and hopefully we will see that with the next ones.

 

[Tom22]

count me in! Just finished!
 
http://www.head-fi.org/products/brainwavz-blu-100-bluetooth-iems/reviews/13127
 

 

[Tom22]

  Oh - I agree that there could and should be improvements.
 
As far as working out goes - I am a regular.  I have to be at my age. Regular walking and jogging.  Gym every 2nd day as well.  The BLU-100 have been my choice-du-jour since I got them.  I just use them and my iPhone.  I don't find them unwieldy at all - just tuck the cable over ear, and have the cord at the back of my neck.
 
Because I only use them for that purpose - the 4 hour battery life isn't really an issue for me.  For everything else, I have my A83, Titans, Altones, Trinity Deltas, Curve etc
 
If Brainwavz could bring out another one in a more ergonomic form, and say a 6-8 hour battery life - then I could see myself using them for other uses than just exercise.

i use mines when shooting a basketball around at my local park, or actually oddly enough around my neck
 
when driving (not listening to music) but to answer calls. (they isolate a bit too much for that purpose, but i can see that being done, especially if you only go on ear like me and keep the volume down to a minimal)
 
now i don't have to worry about snagging the cable on my arms when shooting around, or getting my face slapped by the cable when running. 
 
i wish it comes with a neat cable tie fixed on the earphones like the bluebuds x (never own it but i can see the appeal of that feature).
 
I actually wasn't able to use them over the ear, the cable wouldn't behave and it would flopp around

 

[Brooko]

 
I actually wasn't able to use them over the ear, the cable wouldn't behave and it would flopp around

 
I wear glasses - so I tuck the cable under the arms.  I'm going to play with a pair of clip on ear guides though - and see if that helps as well.

 

[Hisoundfi]

Am I late to the party?
 
Here is my review. Looking forward to comparing them to the others.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/products/brainwavz-blu-100-bluetooth-iems/reviews/13128
 
All information is based on my solo impressions and time spent with the product. I intentionally didn't read any other reviews before posting it, just to see how mine will compare with the rest. Enjoy!!!