BRAINWAVZ B200 Review

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brainwavz B200 Review  

 

A Fresh & Airy Candy

 

Introduction:

The company Brainwavz is a well-known Asian Hi-Fi Audio Company, which offers affordable audio products such as Headphones, In-Ear Monitors, Accessories, etc. The Brainwavz B200 that I will now review for you is a member of the B Series Universal In-Ear Monitors with Balanced Armature Drivers.

 

 

 

Disclaimer:

The Brainwavz B200 was provided to me by the Brainwavz as a review sample. I am not affiliated with Brainwavz beyond this review and these words reflect my true and unaltered opinions about the product.

 

 

Price & Warranty:

The actual price of the Brainwavz B200 is 95.60 USD and has a 24 Month Warranty.

Purchase Link: Brainwavz B200

 

 

Package and Accessories:

The Brainwavz B200 comes in rectangular box which is wrapped with a white card board which sports the product branding and some model descriptions.

The box itself is in grey and has a soft coated surface that has a nice appearance.

Inside the Box are the following items:

  • 1 x pair Brainwavz B200 In-Er Monitor
  • 1 x Cable with MMCX connectors and 3.5mm Headphone Jack
  • 6 x Sets of Silicone Ear Tips (S, M, L)
  • 1 x Set of Comply™ Foam Tips T-100
  • 1 x Zipper case
  • 1 x Shirt Clip
  • 1 x Velcro Cable Tie
  • 1 x Instruction Manual & Warranty Card (24 month warranty)

 

 

 

Design, Fit and Build Quality:

The Brainwavz B200 is an In-Ear Monitor with Dual balanced armature driver technology, which means it has 2 drivers to produce the sound.

The Brainwavz B200 has a transparent shell that is printed using state-of-the-art liquid Resin 3D printers, which is enabling a shape that is not possible to make by normal manufacturing methods.

The overall build quality looks good and the 24 Month of Warranty is a nice addition.

The sound nozzle on the monitor shell has a small diameter and features a small lip.

On the top of the nozzle is a small filter that is avoiding the entering of ear wax or dust. The inner surface sports a small vent.

On the top of the monitor is the MMCX (Micro Miniature Coaxial) female connector. The fit between the cable and the connector on the monitor is pretty tight.

Near the connectors are the Left (L) and Right (R) markings.

The B200 is a very lightweight IEM with a very ergonomic shape, which makes it to an ideal IEM for long listening periods. The isolation is above average and sufficient for environments such as metro, bus or train.

 

The Brainwavz B200 is coming with a cable that features MMCX (Micro Miniature Coaxial) male connectors.

Both cables have a black plastic isolation with a soft surface.

The MMCX connectors on both cables have L & R makings and are featuring flexible shrink tube ear guides.

The cable sports a Y splitter with Brainwavz branding and chin slider made of metal.

The cable of the B200 has a slightly angled headphone jack with plastic housing and gold plated 3.5mm unbalanced (TRS) plug.

 

 

 

Specifications:

  • Drivers           : Dual Balanced Armature
  • Impedance    : 30Ω
  • Freq. Range   : 12 Hz – 22 kHz
  • Sensitivity      : 110dB at 1mW
  • Cable             : Detachable
  • Connector      : MMCX
  • Plug               : 3.5 mm, Gold plated

 

 

Drivability:

The Brainwavz B200 is an In-Ear Monitor with an impedance of 30ohm and sensitivity of 110dB at 1mW and is ideal for the use with relative weak sources like smartphones, tablets, but shows its true potential if you pair it with more powerful sources like a Portable Amplifiers or DAP’s.

 

 

Equipment’s used for this review:

  • IEM                 : Brainwavz B200, Alpha&Delta D6, Phonak PFE 012
  • DAP/DAC       : Astell&Kern SR15, QLS Hifi QA361, Cayin N5II

 

Albums & tracks used for this review:

  • Rush’s – Leave That Thing Alone (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
  • Liquid Tension Experiment 2 – Acid Rain (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
  • Opeth – Damnation (Wav 16bit/44kHz)
  • Metallica – Sad but True (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
  • Megadeth – Sweating Bullets (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
  • Slayer – Angel of Death (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
  • Gogo Penguin – Raven (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
  • Otto Liebert& Luna Negra – The River (DSF) – Binaural Recording
  • Vivaldi – Le QuarttroStagioni “The Four Season” (Wav 24bit/88kHz)
  • Armin Van Buuren – Vini Vici (Spotify)
  • Lorde – Royal (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
  • Tom Player – Resonace Theory (16bit/44.1kHz)
  • Massive Attack – Angel (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
  • Portishead – The Hidden Camera (MP3 320kHz)
  • Elton John – Your Song (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
  • David Bowie – Black Star (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
  • Dave Gahan – Kingdom (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
  • Eric Clapton – Unplugged Album (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
  • First Aid Kit – My Silver Lining (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
  • London Grammar – Interlude (Live) (Flac 24bit/88kHz)
  • Laura Pergolizzi – Lost On You “Live at Harvard and Stone” (Wav 16bit/44.1kHz)

 

 

 

The Sound:

The Brainwavz B200 is an In-Ear Monitor with a linear bass response. The midrange and treble area is very neutral and transparent while the level of detail is above its price range.

 

Bass:

The B200 is showing a very linear bass response with a fast, clean, controlled and detailed presentation, but the extension is quite short. Especially the control, separation and speed are admirable.

The bass of the B200 is enough for genres such like Metal, Jazz, Blues or Acoustic music, while it doesn’t shows a sufficient level of depth, rumble and intensity for genres like EDM, Trance, Rnb, etc.

The B200 has a lightly pronounced, controlled and fast midbass reproduction. There are no negative situations like a midbass-hump or muddiness and mixings. The midbass are shows more emphasis and quantity compared to the subbass, while the slam effect of the midbass is not very strong.

 

Midrange:

The Brainwavz B200 is showing a very transparent, neutral and clean midrange presentation without any colorations, for example like a additional warmth.

Male vocals are sounding vivid and clear, while it is missing some fullness. Female vocals on the other hand are very transparent, detailed and airy in its presentation, with good extension and control. People who are listening mainly to female vocals will love the B200.

The B200 has an instrument tonality that is neither thin nor too thick in tits presentation.

Instruments like guitars are slightly bright and showing good extension. Other instruments like violins are detailed and pronounced, while side flutes are bright and stirring.

The timber of instruments is in general distinct and clear.

 

Upper Midrange & Treble:

The Brainwavz B200 has a strong upper midrange emphasis while the tonality is fairly neutral. This region gives a good amount of airiness and transparency, while the transition to the highs is controlled without to show any unwanted harshness and sibilance.

The upper midrange is detailed and is showing a good extension.

Female vocals and instruments from clarinets to obalines, from the bassoon to the pianos, are pronounced and showing good extension.

The Brainwavz B200 has a distinctive, airy and well-extended treble presentation which doesn’t sound too sharp. The B200 has a well balanced treble quantity, intensity and sparkle that are sounding pretty controlled and fast. Instruments like Hi-Hats are slightly in the background, while the hits of the crash cymbals are tight and showing good extension.

 

Soundstage:

The Brainwavz B200 has a expansive stage that is suitable for the positioning and separation of instruments and the vocals. The soundstage is quite spacious and airy, while the depth is average compared to width.

 

 

Some Comparisons:

 

Brainwavz B200 versus Alpha&Delta D6 

The first noticeable difference of the Alpha & Delta D6 compared to the Brainwavz B200 is the brighter tonality and slightly more pronounced bass.

The D6 has a slightly advantage in terms of subbass depth and quantity, because the B200 has a noticeable roll-off in this area.

The Alpha & Delta D6 has the upper hand in terms of midbass intensity, slam and quantity, while the B200 is faster and more detailed in this frequency region.

The midrange of both IEM’s is quite transparent, clean and detailed. Male vocals are showing more depth while listening to the D6. Female vocals are pretty emotional on both IEM’s, while the B200 sounds more controlled than the D6 which has sibilance with some tracks (for example First Aid Kit – My Silver Lining).

Both the D6 and the B200 are featuring a strong and transparent upper midrange. The upper midrange of the D6 is brighter and a bit harsh compared to the softer and more natural presentation of the B200, which is pretty controlled in this regarding.

The treble presentation of both IEM’s is airy, detailed and quite spacious. The treble range of the Alpha & Delta D6 is more pronounced and has better extension, while the Brainwavz B200 is superior in terms of control and realism.

The D6 and the B200 have an airy soundstage which is suitable for a fairly precise separation and positioning of instruments and vocal. The stage of the Alpha & Delta D6 shows slightly more depth, while the Brainwavz B200 is superior to the D6 in terms soundstage width.

 

Brainwavz B200 versus Phonak PFE 012 (with grey filter)

 The Phonak PFE 012 is an In-Ear Monitor with balanced armature driver configuration same as the Brainwavz B200. The main difference is that the PFE 012 has only one BA, while the B200 has two BA drivers.

The PFE 012 is an IEM with a pretty neutral tonality and balanced sound signature.

The subbass of the PF 012 shows slightly more quantity and depth than those of the B200.

The midbass character of those IEM’s is pretty identical in terms of quantity and intensity which is not very high. But the Brainwavz B200 has the upper hand in terms of bass speed.

The midange of both In-Ear Monitors are close to neutral in its tonality. The B200 is superior to the PFE 012 in terms of transparency and detail, because the midrange of the PF012 is slightly more recessed.

The PFE 012 sounds more emotional with male vocals, while the B200 is more successful while listening to female voices.

The upper midrange of the PFE 012 and the B200 shows good extension and control, while the Brainwavz B200 shows more detail and clearness.

The Brainwavz B200 is superior to the Phonak PFE 012 in terms of treble extension, quantity and detail. The PFE 012 is showing less sparkle and extension in this area.

The soundstage of the Phonak PFE 012 has an average expansion. The Brainwavz B200 has is superior in terms of soundstage wideness, while the Phonak PFE 012 shows slightly more depth. The soundstage of the B200 is more airy compared to the PFE 012.

 

Conclusion:

The Brainwavz B200 is an In-Ear Monitor that is very comfortable and which shows a detail retrieval and realism above its price. The overall tonality and presentation will highly satisfy if you are listening mainly to genres such like jazz, metal, acoustic or blues, while you should look elsewhere if you are listening to more bass intensive genres like EDM, Trans or RNB.

The 24 month of warranty and the nice accessory package is also a nice addition.

 

 

Pros and Cons:

  • + Detail retrieval and realism
  • + Transparency and control
  • + Comfortable fit
  • + Nice accessory package
  • + 24 Month of Warranty

 

  • – Not an all-rounder
  • – Subbass depth and extension
  • – Nozzle is a bit small for tips rolling

 

 

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