Let’s get started :-
This time , BRAINWAVZ have a new earphone seemingly a subordinate of S5 , it seems like brainwavz are serious about making durable and value efficient earphones , with metal housing , durable flat cable , and its priced $50 which means its up against some of the HEAD-FI favorites like VSD3/s , KC06 , havi B3 pro 1 , but I have none of these , I have a VSD1 ( loaned to a friends for a while ) , so I will compare it to ATH-CKX9 and XBA-C10 , lets see how it fairs against these two .
And Sorry Salsera I am really late with this review and I might have let you down , I had an emergency to attend , And I am really grateful that you gave me a chance to review this fantastic earphone . Not trying to impress anyone , cuz I am seriously impressed with this earphone . And no need to amp at all .
Design build and accessories :-
It’s a full metal earpiece , just like S5 , but this time it’s a straight barrel , painted black with matte finish , orthodox design , and this time L/R markings can be seen clearly on both earpieces , branding on the back of the earpiece along with a vent in the center . and another vent just under the nozzle , designed to wear cable down but you can go over the ear for a change if you like it that way . comes with plenty of tips and a comply s-400 too and I like those sony style tips . And the usually trademark black –red carry pouch . I use the red-blackish large tips .
This time around strain relievers are colored red , design and material are similar to S5 , hard rubber , its okay but could have been better . cable are flat and black , not much heavy and not grey any more , there is a cable/chin slider as usual . This time around , Y split or the cable splitter is smaller considering the huge splitter in S5 , branwavz is listening to people , and thankfully we have a cable/shirt clip this time , it’s a welcome addition but it doesn’t hold the cable nicely .
So lets go comparing !!
Comparison with ATH-CKX9 and XBA-C10i:-
Let’s start with form factor isolation and glossary , ckx9 and c10 are half in-ears still have decent isolation for their design , and I have to admit that CKX9 has one of the most secure fitting I have seen on an earphone thanks to its wings ( really good for running ) . S0 is good with it too, I should say better and goes deeper, wind noise is not bothering with any of these phones. CKX9 has the best cable of this lot , C10 and S0 are good at their strengths , where C10’s cable is weak and prone to tangling S0’s cable is microphonic and has memory , CKX9’s cable is supple , microphonics is low , and not prone to entanglement too . Then comes comfort where S0 gets full marks, no irritation at all , but with the other two you have to deal with fins and wings which are uncomfortable after a few hours . at least I can’t wear CKX9 for more than 2-3 hours and C10 for more than 4hours .
Sound quality comparison:-
Let me start by saying S0 is not as clear as CKX9 , S0 is good but not like crystal clear , you can hear everything but CKX9 sounds cleaner against S0 ( and S0 sounds clearer ) CKX9 has its short comings , C10 is somewhere in between . Better than S0 but not as good as CKX9 . It might not be fair to compare CKX9 with S0 but it’s close to $70 and comparable from my point of view.
Keep in mind that some of the issues with the older S5 have been addressed here with S0 .
So lets get into the usual segments.
Lows :-
S0 as we all know is more balanced when compared to S5 but it’s bass is not totally flat . goes deep , nice extension , decay is good unlike S5 , that was the only thing I didn’t like about S5 . It’s got enough rumble to please me , doesn’t slam like S5 but its good , hits good and easy , moves enough amount of air and bass is pleasingly present , It’s got more sub bass and its mid bass is not as prominent as S5 , still its more in volume compared to sub bass , thank fully not drowning , it feels like people at Brainwavz have addressed the huge mid bass hump in the S5 with S0 , it’s what I would like to see happening to S5 ( add a bit more sub bass too ). Thanks to the mid bass , bass feels overall tighter and the whole spectrum feels less V-shaped . One thing I would like to complain about is that Bass feels a bit dry , ever so slightly , unlike re-400 which is juicy , notes are not deep enough like S5 . And sometimes bass can get itself messing with the mids but its clean most of the time .
In the other hand ckx9 is similar to S5 , bassiest of the three , huge slam , rumbles enough to get close to bass head category , I wont say it’s a xb90ex competition but its can compete thanks to its fuller presentation and enough body to please bass heads , just like crystals ( crystals have more than enough sub bass and mid bass is not this big ) , its mid bass’s prominence is what defines its bass , there is sub bass but decay of mid bass drowns the sub bass at times , you can hear it but a drowned sub bass is not the best thing . Extension is good but it’s not distinct enough . Still it’s enjoyable , I like what it does .
When it comes to C10 , its bass is deep but it’s a BA , no problem with mid bass here , even if it has some extra emphasis , cant move much air , rumble is nothing to write home about , bass extension is nice , still got enough bass considering it’s a balanced armature , not like pl50 which is kind of dry and bass shy , and that means decay is not so good , not close to pl50 at all , even if S0’s decay is not this fast its bass has more body and rumble . and c-10’s bass feels dry , really dry .
So S0 is no bass monster but got enough bass to keep one interested . it has more precision when compared to S5 while giving up some rumble and body .
Mids :-
This part of the spectrum has my attention all the time , I like mids , not a fan of prominence or forwardness but it should be clear and not drowned , it’s okay if its V-shaped but mids should not be left deep in the valley . And here S0 is V-shaped but not much , it’s like a few DB behind , not as much as S5 , leave alone CKX9 which has one of the biggest dip I have seen , and when it comes to c10 which is mid centric , has no dip at all , even one can say it’s mid range is a bit forward . S0 still holds its own .
as I have already mentioned , S0 is not the cleanest , may be due to a lower-mid dip in the mid section and brighter presentation , or you can say I like a bit darker signature , mids do reflect it clearly , its that , everything is present , you can hear all the instruments , cymbals , guitars and everything but it could have been cleaner . its not a bad thing or bad enough to bother but it’s the only thing I can think of to complain about so im stressing on it . S5 is clearer in this prospective, cleaner , so does CKX9 , it’s not bad until you compare it to something good . its like piston 2 , but not that unclear .
I have to say that I like S0’s mids , its spacious , sound stage is nice and even , has nice width and depth too , believe me as I say its better than CKX9 , C10 has one of the worst sundstage I have experienced in this price range , may be better than S5 , separation is nice , you can distinguish instruments , instrument are nicely placed in the stage , nothing sounds much distant or closer , you can hear more instruments like its more transparent , or should I say its more reveling , and clearer too when compared to CKX9 ( with is clean with what it gives but some symbols are hidden ) and C10 , I really like its mids , really cohesive , its like brainwavz has got the right tuning after all . Timber is fantastic considering its made of full metal . it’s still a bit metallic , losing some of tonality , by that I mean it sounds a bit artificial . C10 and Ckx9 are not so cohesive. Instruments are clearer in S0 , C10 comes 2nd and then CKX9 . CKX9 is not clear enough thanks its drowned mid section.
Treble :-
this time there are no splash , its really cleaner and is smooth , its really balanced with mids and lows , not grainy but can struggle with high speed EDM or techno trance music . Extension is not as good as S5 , none of the earphones of these 3 have good high extension , C10 Is the worst , not really transparent or reveling , CKX9 has elevated highs still falls behind S0 when it comes to clarity , its not spiky or splashy but can bother after long hours , but you can have S0 for really long hour without any annoyance . I have to admit that S0’s highs have the most amount of details of these 3 and separation from mid section is a good too , I want to say S0 has one of the best highs , by that I mean , clearer , reveling highs , I have ever experienced with an under $50 earphone . with nicely mastered tracks you can hear the highs working at its best , fantastic I must say , really enjoyable , tuning again is fantastic . its better than VSD1 for sure which is a bit harsh and not this transparent .
conclusion :-
it’s the smoothness , the inoffensive presentation which makes it an excellent earphone . class leading , its not fatiguing at all , its easy to recommend this phone to the one who want longer sessions of casual listening , its enjoyable , it can be easily called a more balanced version of S5 , but S5 has more clarity over all . still I will pick this over S5 any day .
I can say that , I have become a fan of this earphone , its fantastic and it replaces VSD1 in my favorite list , thanks to its instrument clarity , presentation , cohesive mids , reveling highs , mama mia , me likey !!
cheers , have a nice time .
would love to have some feed back .
brainwavz M1:-
Getting started:- (accessories and miscellaneous)
Up close and here we go again, for Brainwavz. Just a week ago I received Brainwavz M1, yeah these guys are really generous and it’s not a new model from any angle (a few years old), and the reason I received this review unit is because Brainwavz are promoting their lineup of M series. Most of us must have heard of this earphone as a good mid centric phone with good bass. And the provided accessories are generous too, it comes with the usual red and black carry case, cable clip, 6 pairs of single flange eartips in 3 different sizes, one pair of bi flange and comply s-400.
Cable is really nice, internally braided, microphonics is not a problem at all, and with the cable clip it stays in place. Build has nothing to complain about but the lack of any kind of strain reliever at the earphone end is a bit bothering, 90 degree plug means I am happy, as I tend to put my DAP in my jeans pocket and a straight plug can damage the 3.5mm socket when sit or bend, design is not bad too, plastic back with aluminum nozzle looks good, sadly lacks a cable slider. L/R marking is clearly visible, and this earphone is comfortable enough for longer hours of listening, which means we can move on to Sound section.
Main business area, Sound quality:-
Thanks to Brainwavz, I have the S0 with me to compare and when it comes to bass, it’s kind of under emphasized on the m1, not lacking but nowhere close to bass head level too, lacks some impact but extension is good and good texture too. It’s in the line with the mid, may be just below. Thanks to the controlled mid bass, bass is not boomy and don’t bleed into the mids, surprisingly these have enough sub bass and again thanks to the mid bass you can hear it but cant satify your sub bass needs. Overall bass is like a bit held back, not exactly immediate, but pace is good, it’s more precise this way. In the other hand, S0 is more boomy and impactful, moves more air and gives up some bass precision as it bleeds a bit in comparison. M1 got enough bass to keep you seated but you should not buy these for its bass for sure. But it will be difficult to fault its bass resolution. Involving and engaging.
Now we are at the main business end, mids, the main selling point of these phones, most of us have gone through many entry level (at least one) earphones which are good with bass, and sometimes they get a bit sparky too, but doing the mids right is more like a tough thing to do, most of the time it’s left in the valley or the back seat, veiled and kind of under emphasized. But it’s not the case here. These phones are tuned for smoother but précised mid presentation, a bit thin when compared to S0 but its more forward. Pleasing, rich, forward, smooth, soft and a bit thin can sum up these mids. It can feel a bit clumsy with a few tracks with higher pace but it’s a minor problem. A lighter leaner presentation means lesser amount of fatigue too. Vocals are a bit farther still really intimate. Separation and layering is not awesome because of its smaller sound stage and can’t be compared to the S0 which is more rounded and bigger in comparison, mids do sound thicker too. S0 is miles ahead with sound stage. But is not as detailed in the mids as the M1. It’s the mid that holds the SQ of this phone together. And let me tell you why.
Because of the highs!! Which lacks much substance, really sorry but I can’t hold myself and would like to ask Why? “why this kolaveri di”, I like a bit more spark with the highs, and to me It’s like you got a lighter but it lacks much friction, you got a knife but its blunt and will require more strength to cut. And believe me I am kind of holding back here. It’s not totally missing. It’s like it’s in the class room but is not paying any attention. Extension is not good enough. Instruments are like you can say relaxed, laidback and takes a hit with separation and layering. I would like to believe that these highs have shrunk the sound stage. And here up top, S0 knocks M1 out. Sibilance is out of question, and sometimes this laid back style suits some who don’t like much spark with their highs. Not me. But you can try EQing.
Let’s conclude:-
Brainwavz has already made an awesome reputation of making value for money products and M1 is no different, even if it’s an older model, it’s detailed and précised mid makes it an outstanding all rounder at this price and complimenting bass is a plus too, thoroughly enjoyable, awesome for vocals, cohesive intimate and engaging. Would I recommend these, yes I will, these are good and really nice for what you pay, but would have been awesome if highs were a bit more lively.
This time , BRAINWAVZ have a new earphone seemingly a subordinate of S5 , it seems like brainwavz are serious about making durable and value efficient earphones , with metal housing , durable flat cable , and its priced $50 which means its up against some of the HEAD-FI favorites like VSD3/s , KC06 , havi B3 pro 1 , but I have none of these , I have a VSD1 ( loaned to a friends for a while ) , so I will compare it to ATH-CKX9 and XBA-C10 , lets see how it fairs against these two .
And Sorry Salsera I am really late with this review and I might have let you down , I had an emergency to attend , And I am really grateful that you gave me a chance to review this fantastic earphone . Not trying to impress anyone , cuz I am seriously impressed with this earphone . And no need to amp at all .
Design build and accessories :-
It’s a full metal earpiece , just like S5 , but this time it’s a straight barrel , painted black with matte finish , orthodox design , and this time L/R markings can be seen clearly on both earpieces , branding on the back of the earpiece along with a vent in the center . and another vent just under the nozzle , designed to wear cable down but you can go over the ear for a change if you like it that way . comes with plenty of tips and a comply s-400 too and I like those sony style tips . And the usually trademark black –red carry pouch . I use the red-blackish large tips .
This time around strain relievers are colored red , design and material are similar to S5 , hard rubber , its okay but could have been better . cable are flat and black , not much heavy and not grey any more , there is a cable/chin slider as usual . This time around , Y split or the cable splitter is smaller considering the huge splitter in S5 , branwavz is listening to people , and thankfully we have a cable/shirt clip this time , it’s a welcome addition but it doesn’t hold the cable nicely .
So lets go comparing !!
Comparison with ATH-CKX9 and XBA-C10i:-
Let’s start with form factor isolation and glossary , ckx9 and c10 are half in-ears still have decent isolation for their design , and I have to admit that CKX9 has one of the most secure fitting I have seen on an earphone thanks to its wings ( really good for running ) . S0 is good with it too, I should say better and goes deeper, wind noise is not bothering with any of these phones. CKX9 has the best cable of this lot , C10 and S0 are good at their strengths , where C10’s cable is weak and prone to tangling S0’s cable is microphonic and has memory , CKX9’s cable is supple , microphonics is low , and not prone to entanglement too . Then comes comfort where S0 gets full marks, no irritation at all , but with the other two you have to deal with fins and wings which are uncomfortable after a few hours . at least I can’t wear CKX9 for more than 2-3 hours and C10 for more than 4hours .
Sound quality comparison:-
Let me start by saying S0 is not as clear as CKX9 , S0 is good but not like crystal clear , you can hear everything but CKX9 sounds cleaner against S0 ( and S0 sounds clearer ) CKX9 has its short comings , C10 is somewhere in between . Better than S0 but not as good as CKX9 . It might not be fair to compare CKX9 with S0 but it’s close to $70 and comparable from my point of view.
Keep in mind that some of the issues with the older S5 have been addressed here with S0 .
So lets get into the usual segments.
Lows :-
S0 as we all know is more balanced when compared to S5 but it’s bass is not totally flat . goes deep , nice extension , decay is good unlike S5 , that was the only thing I didn’t like about S5 . It’s got enough rumble to please me , doesn’t slam like S5 but its good , hits good and easy , moves enough amount of air and bass is pleasingly present , It’s got more sub bass and its mid bass is not as prominent as S5 , still its more in volume compared to sub bass , thank fully not drowning , it feels like people at Brainwavz have addressed the huge mid bass hump in the S5 with S0 , it’s what I would like to see happening to S5 ( add a bit more sub bass too ). Thanks to the mid bass , bass feels overall tighter and the whole spectrum feels less V-shaped . One thing I would like to complain about is that Bass feels a bit dry , ever so slightly , unlike re-400 which is juicy , notes are not deep enough like S5 . And sometimes bass can get itself messing with the mids but its clean most of the time .
In the other hand ckx9 is similar to S5 , bassiest of the three , huge slam , rumbles enough to get close to bass head category , I wont say it’s a xb90ex competition but its can compete thanks to its fuller presentation and enough body to please bass heads , just like crystals ( crystals have more than enough sub bass and mid bass is not this big ) , its mid bass’s prominence is what defines its bass , there is sub bass but decay of mid bass drowns the sub bass at times , you can hear it but a drowned sub bass is not the best thing . Extension is good but it’s not distinct enough . Still it’s enjoyable , I like what it does .
When it comes to C10 , its bass is deep but it’s a BA , no problem with mid bass here , even if it has some extra emphasis , cant move much air , rumble is nothing to write home about , bass extension is nice , still got enough bass considering it’s a balanced armature , not like pl50 which is kind of dry and bass shy , and that means decay is not so good , not close to pl50 at all , even if S0’s decay is not this fast its bass has more body and rumble . and c-10’s bass feels dry , really dry .
So S0 is no bass monster but got enough bass to keep one interested . it has more precision when compared to S5 while giving up some rumble and body .
Mids :-
This part of the spectrum has my attention all the time , I like mids , not a fan of prominence or forwardness but it should be clear and not drowned , it’s okay if its V-shaped but mids should not be left deep in the valley . And here S0 is V-shaped but not much , it’s like a few DB behind , not as much as S5 , leave alone CKX9 which has one of the biggest dip I have seen , and when it comes to c10 which is mid centric , has no dip at all , even one can say it’s mid range is a bit forward . S0 still holds its own .
as I have already mentioned , S0 is not the cleanest , may be due to a lower-mid dip in the mid section and brighter presentation , or you can say I like a bit darker signature , mids do reflect it clearly , its that , everything is present , you can hear all the instruments , cymbals , guitars and everything but it could have been cleaner . its not a bad thing or bad enough to bother but it’s the only thing I can think of to complain about so im stressing on it . S5 is clearer in this prospective, cleaner , so does CKX9 , it’s not bad until you compare it to something good . its like piston 2 , but not that unclear .
I have to say that I like S0’s mids , its spacious , sound stage is nice and even , has nice width and depth too , believe me as I say its better than CKX9 , C10 has one of the worst sundstage I have experienced in this price range , may be better than S5 , separation is nice , you can distinguish instruments , instrument are nicely placed in the stage , nothing sounds much distant or closer , you can hear more instruments like its more transparent , or should I say its more reveling , and clearer too when compared to CKX9 ( with is clean with what it gives but some symbols are hidden ) and C10 , I really like its mids , really cohesive , its like brainwavz has got the right tuning after all . Timber is fantastic considering its made of full metal . it’s still a bit metallic , losing some of tonality , by that I mean it sounds a bit artificial . C10 and Ckx9 are not so cohesive. Instruments are clearer in S0 , C10 comes 2nd and then CKX9 . CKX9 is not clear enough thanks its drowned mid section.
Treble :-
this time there are no splash , its really cleaner and is smooth , its really balanced with mids and lows , not grainy but can struggle with high speed EDM or techno trance music . Extension is not as good as S5 , none of the earphones of these 3 have good high extension , C10 Is the worst , not really transparent or reveling , CKX9 has elevated highs still falls behind S0 when it comes to clarity , its not spiky or splashy but can bother after long hours , but you can have S0 for really long hour without any annoyance . I have to admit that S0’s highs have the most amount of details of these 3 and separation from mid section is a good too , I want to say S0 has one of the best highs , by that I mean , clearer , reveling highs , I have ever experienced with an under $50 earphone . with nicely mastered tracks you can hear the highs working at its best , fantastic I must say , really enjoyable , tuning again is fantastic . its better than VSD1 for sure which is a bit harsh and not this transparent .
conclusion :-
it’s the smoothness , the inoffensive presentation which makes it an excellent earphone . class leading , its not fatiguing at all , its easy to recommend this phone to the one who want longer sessions of casual listening , its enjoyable , it can be easily called a more balanced version of S5 , but S5 has more clarity over all . still I will pick this over S5 any day .
I can say that , I have become a fan of this earphone , its fantastic and it replaces VSD1 in my favorite list , thanks to its instrument clarity , presentation , cohesive mids , reveling highs , mama mia , me likey !!
cheers , have a nice time .
would love to have some feed back .
brainwavz M1:-
Getting started:- (accessories and miscellaneous)
Up close and here we go again, for Brainwavz. Just a week ago I received Brainwavz M1, yeah these guys are really generous and it’s not a new model from any angle (a few years old), and the reason I received this review unit is because Brainwavz are promoting their lineup of M series. Most of us must have heard of this earphone as a good mid centric phone with good bass. And the provided accessories are generous too, it comes with the usual red and black carry case, cable clip, 6 pairs of single flange eartips in 3 different sizes, one pair of bi flange and comply s-400.
Cable is really nice, internally braided, microphonics is not a problem at all, and with the cable clip it stays in place. Build has nothing to complain about but the lack of any kind of strain reliever at the earphone end is a bit bothering, 90 degree plug means I am happy, as I tend to put my DAP in my jeans pocket and a straight plug can damage the 3.5mm socket when sit or bend, design is not bad too, plastic back with aluminum nozzle looks good, sadly lacks a cable slider. L/R marking is clearly visible, and this earphone is comfortable enough for longer hours of listening, which means we can move on to Sound section.
Main business area, Sound quality:-
Thanks to Brainwavz, I have the S0 with me to compare and when it comes to bass, it’s kind of under emphasized on the m1, not lacking but nowhere close to bass head level too, lacks some impact but extension is good and good texture too. It’s in the line with the mid, may be just below. Thanks to the controlled mid bass, bass is not boomy and don’t bleed into the mids, surprisingly these have enough sub bass and again thanks to the mid bass you can hear it but cant satify your sub bass needs. Overall bass is like a bit held back, not exactly immediate, but pace is good, it’s more precise this way. In the other hand, S0 is more boomy and impactful, moves more air and gives up some bass precision as it bleeds a bit in comparison. M1 got enough bass to keep you seated but you should not buy these for its bass for sure. But it will be difficult to fault its bass resolution. Involving and engaging.
Now we are at the main business end, mids, the main selling point of these phones, most of us have gone through many entry level (at least one) earphones which are good with bass, and sometimes they get a bit sparky too, but doing the mids right is more like a tough thing to do, most of the time it’s left in the valley or the back seat, veiled and kind of under emphasized. But it’s not the case here. These phones are tuned for smoother but précised mid presentation, a bit thin when compared to S0 but its more forward. Pleasing, rich, forward, smooth, soft and a bit thin can sum up these mids. It can feel a bit clumsy with a few tracks with higher pace but it’s a minor problem. A lighter leaner presentation means lesser amount of fatigue too. Vocals are a bit farther still really intimate. Separation and layering is not awesome because of its smaller sound stage and can’t be compared to the S0 which is more rounded and bigger in comparison, mids do sound thicker too. S0 is miles ahead with sound stage. But is not as detailed in the mids as the M1. It’s the mid that holds the SQ of this phone together. And let me tell you why.
Because of the highs!! Which lacks much substance, really sorry but I can’t hold myself and would like to ask Why? “why this kolaveri di”, I like a bit more spark with the highs, and to me It’s like you got a lighter but it lacks much friction, you got a knife but its blunt and will require more strength to cut. And believe me I am kind of holding back here. It’s not totally missing. It’s like it’s in the class room but is not paying any attention. Extension is not good enough. Instruments are like you can say relaxed, laidback and takes a hit with separation and layering. I would like to believe that these highs have shrunk the sound stage. And here up top, S0 knocks M1 out. Sibilance is out of question, and sometimes this laid back style suits some who don’t like much spark with their highs. Not me. But you can try EQing.
Let’s conclude:-
Brainwavz has already made an awesome reputation of making value for money products and M1 is no different, even if it’s an older model, it’s detailed and précised mid makes it an outstanding all rounder at this price and complimenting bass is a plus too, thoroughly enjoyable, awesome for vocals, cohesive intimate and engaging. Would I recommend these, yes I will, these are good and really nice for what you pay, but would have been awesome if highs were a bit more lively.
