Thank-you to Pandora of Brainwavz for supplying the Omega for review.
Brainwavz has been around for a while now and this isn't my first encounter with one of their products. In 2011 I purchased my first Brainwavz IEM, the M1. At the time I was impressed with the M1's balanced sound and reasonable price. It was sampled and appreciated by a musician friend of mine and became a reluctant gift. A year later I snagged the R1; this was my first encounter with a dual dynamic driver and despite it not being universally popular I very much enjoyed the bass heavy sound. It became my gym IEM and for over 8 months it survived very rough treatment including but not limited to cables caught on weights/bars and a slurry of liquid ear wax (yeah, I know 'yuck'). It's been a few years since I've heard a Brainwavz product; not from any lack on their part but simply because there's a cornucopia of options out there and I've been liberal about exploring them.
That brings us to the Omega. At $15 it's Brainwavz cheapest earphone on offer. Two years ago that would have bought you a plastic housing and a tinny/flat sound. Happily things have changed.
Build Quality & Aesthetics: The Omega is a traditional barrel shaped design but like most of Brainwavz IEMs it's a little quirky in a good way. You get solid steel housings each possessing a nicely finished mesh grill. The housings are connected to the cables by a plastic strain relief that aids in easy insertion and removal without needing to pull on and stress the cables. The aforementioned cord is of above average quality for the price. It's not overly microphonic or sticky and doesn't have much memory (it doesn't want to kink). The cabling between the housings and the robust Y split are a little thin but still reasonable for the price, if there's a weak point to the build quality this is it. Below the Y split (which possesses a functional cable cinch) the cable is thicker and appears durable. The TRRS jack is angled (between straight and ninety degrees), it's gold plated and small enough to work with most phone cases. It's obvious that Brainwavz believes this IEM will be used with phones because it includes a small plastic three button remote (nice clicky buttons). I didn't used the Omega with a phone so for me the remote (on the right side) functioned as the L/R indicator. The strain reliefs on the housings are also engraved with tiny 'R' and 'L' indicators but they're difficult to see.
The Omega is offered in three different versions. There's the traditional black and white but along with those is the third option, blue and red, or to be more accurate crimson and violet. That's the model I received and it adds an appealing touch of personality.
Accessories: For $15 what's included with the Omega strikes me as generous. You get three sets of moderate quality silicone ear tips in small, medium and large. A set of Comply S-400 tips (usually an IEM has to be pricier to include these). One shirt clip (it can aid in controlling cable noise). A velcro cable tie (which I promptly ignored). A small instruction manual and a card presenting you with a two year warranty. You don't get Brainwavz's superb IEM case, for that you'd have to buy a more expensive model.
Fit & Comfort: The Omega's housings are tiny. Those with smaller ears (such as myself) can rejoice; this IEM fits quickly, comfortable and easily. Straight out of the box (with the medium tips) I got an above average fit and seal. Later I did some tip rolling and had an even better experience using some foreign tips from my collection. If you're new to in ears I wouldn't be concerned, I think the vast majority of people will get on great with the included options.
Isolation: Average to slightly better than average. Choose the Comply foams and you'll get a little more noise blockage.
Sound Quality: The Omegas present the listener with a traditional mid-bass heavy consumer friendly sound. The bass is a little emphasized (though not dramatically so) while the mids are slightly recessed, the treble is present but not bright or forward. Brainwavz' take on this popular approach is a good one. The bass isn't tubby or too slow and it's only the tiniest bit intrusive into the midrange.
Before I continue the reader should know that the majority of my listening was done out of an MSI gaming computer coupled with the HRT Microstreamer, a USB based solution to the DAC/AMP question I find very satisfying. The music I listened to was almost entirely electronic in a variety of sub genres including tropical house, vocal trance, industrial, EBM, EDM, chillout etc... I also challenged the Omega's dynamics by using it to watch several lossless audio films (horror and action) as well as a few TV shows (which lets me know just how naturally an IEM will perform with the human voice).
The most common issue I have with budget earphones (and some that are more expensive) is a lack of refinement. What might sound good for a few minutes can, over hours of use, grow tiring or grating. When I start to feel fatigued or irritated it makes me want the IEMs causing it out of my ears. A good example are some of the Omega's competitors from KZ. The KZ-ATE can be initially impressive, as can the KZ-ED9. The problems are realized later; the ATE lacks bass control and the ED9's treble has spikes that (for me) are a little too harsh. The Omega competes well. Initially the Omega didn't 'wow' me like the ATE did. Then I compared each of them during an hour and a half movie (switching every 20 minutes). The Omega has a more natural presentation with voices and other familiar sounds; it doesn't tire the ear.
Something else you couldn't get two plus years ago for $15 was an out of the head sound stage. Though it's not dramatically wide or deep, the Omega does have an (slightly) out of the head sound. You won't get a holographic sense of instrument placement but it's present enough to imbue the Omega with a little more dimensionality than you'd normally guess a budget IEM would present.
Conclusion: For $15 the Brainwavz Omega offers the prospective buyer a better than average build quality, a charmingly quirky but practical aesthetic and an easily listenable, above average (for it's price) quality of sound. It's both cheap and comfortable. For those with a limited budget or as a gift for your phone loving friends who are still using the headsets included with their phones, it's a solid choice.
Brainwavz has been around for a while now and this isn't my first encounter with one of their products. In 2011 I purchased my first Brainwavz IEM, the M1. At the time I was impressed with the M1's balanced sound and reasonable price. It was sampled and appreciated by a musician friend of mine and became a reluctant gift. A year later I snagged the R1; this was my first encounter with a dual dynamic driver and despite it not being universally popular I very much enjoyed the bass heavy sound. It became my gym IEM and for over 8 months it survived very rough treatment including but not limited to cables caught on weights/bars and a slurry of liquid ear wax (yeah, I know 'yuck'). It's been a few years since I've heard a Brainwavz product; not from any lack on their part but simply because there's a cornucopia of options out there and I've been liberal about exploring them.
That brings us to the Omega. At $15 it's Brainwavz cheapest earphone on offer. Two years ago that would have bought you a plastic housing and a tinny/flat sound. Happily things have changed.
Build Quality & Aesthetics: The Omega is a traditional barrel shaped design but like most of Brainwavz IEMs it's a little quirky in a good way. You get solid steel housings each possessing a nicely finished mesh grill. The housings are connected to the cables by a plastic strain relief that aids in easy insertion and removal without needing to pull on and stress the cables. The aforementioned cord is of above average quality for the price. It's not overly microphonic or sticky and doesn't have much memory (it doesn't want to kink). The cabling between the housings and the robust Y split are a little thin but still reasonable for the price, if there's a weak point to the build quality this is it. Below the Y split (which possesses a functional cable cinch) the cable is thicker and appears durable. The TRRS jack is angled (between straight and ninety degrees), it's gold plated and small enough to work with most phone cases. It's obvious that Brainwavz believes this IEM will be used with phones because it includes a small plastic three button remote (nice clicky buttons). I didn't used the Omega with a phone so for me the remote (on the right side) functioned as the L/R indicator. The strain reliefs on the housings are also engraved with tiny 'R' and 'L' indicators but they're difficult to see.
The Omega is offered in three different versions. There's the traditional black and white but along with those is the third option, blue and red, or to be more accurate crimson and violet. That's the model I received and it adds an appealing touch of personality.
Accessories: For $15 what's included with the Omega strikes me as generous. You get three sets of moderate quality silicone ear tips in small, medium and large. A set of Comply S-400 tips (usually an IEM has to be pricier to include these). One shirt clip (it can aid in controlling cable noise). A velcro cable tie (which I promptly ignored). A small instruction manual and a card presenting you with a two year warranty. You don't get Brainwavz's superb IEM case, for that you'd have to buy a more expensive model.
Fit & Comfort: The Omega's housings are tiny. Those with smaller ears (such as myself) can rejoice; this IEM fits quickly, comfortable and easily. Straight out of the box (with the medium tips) I got an above average fit and seal. Later I did some tip rolling and had an even better experience using some foreign tips from my collection. If you're new to in ears I wouldn't be concerned, I think the vast majority of people will get on great with the included options.
Isolation: Average to slightly better than average. Choose the Comply foams and you'll get a little more noise blockage.
Sound Quality: The Omegas present the listener with a traditional mid-bass heavy consumer friendly sound. The bass is a little emphasized (though not dramatically so) while the mids are slightly recessed, the treble is present but not bright or forward. Brainwavz' take on this popular approach is a good one. The bass isn't tubby or too slow and it's only the tiniest bit intrusive into the midrange.
Before I continue the reader should know that the majority of my listening was done out of an MSI gaming computer coupled with the HRT Microstreamer, a USB based solution to the DAC/AMP question I find very satisfying. The music I listened to was almost entirely electronic in a variety of sub genres including tropical house, vocal trance, industrial, EBM, EDM, chillout etc... I also challenged the Omega's dynamics by using it to watch several lossless audio films (horror and action) as well as a few TV shows (which lets me know just how naturally an IEM will perform with the human voice).
The most common issue I have with budget earphones (and some that are more expensive) is a lack of refinement. What might sound good for a few minutes can, over hours of use, grow tiring or grating. When I start to feel fatigued or irritated it makes me want the IEMs causing it out of my ears. A good example are some of the Omega's competitors from KZ. The KZ-ATE can be initially impressive, as can the KZ-ED9. The problems are realized later; the ATE lacks bass control and the ED9's treble has spikes that (for me) are a little too harsh. The Omega competes well. Initially the Omega didn't 'wow' me like the ATE did. Then I compared each of them during an hour and a half movie (switching every 20 minutes). The Omega has a more natural presentation with voices and other familiar sounds; it doesn't tire the ear.
Something else you couldn't get two plus years ago for $15 was an out of the head sound stage. Though it's not dramatically wide or deep, the Omega does have an (slightly) out of the head sound. You won't get a holographic sense of instrument placement but it's present enough to imbue the Omega with a little more dimensionality than you'd normally guess a budget IEM would present.
Conclusion: For $15 the Brainwavz Omega offers the prospective buyer a better than average build quality, a charmingly quirky but practical aesthetic and an easily listenable, above average (for it's price) quality of sound. It's both cheap and comfortable. For those with a limited budget or as a gift for your phone loving friends who are still using the headsets included with their phones, it's a solid choice.