[Review] Brainwavz HM5, A New Neutral Champ - Page 95

Quote:

Originally Posted by fischerb 

I am almost decided on getting Audioquest Dragonfly with HM5. I want to hear more musicality from them as they are a bit cold and boring for my taste (I have listened very few HP including: ATH-A500X and ATH-M50; I loved A500X, especially how comfortable they are). I hope Dragonfly is gonna work well with them, cuz ~250$ is the very most I can spend on DAC/AMP. I also want to get Shure velour pads and cable if possible. That would squeeze most of what HM5 can give you I think.
I think it is useful to say that I listen to ambient music: Brian Eno as the favorite artist, I also like soundtracks of Angelo Badalamenti and I love Jazz/Soul music: Nina Simone as one of the favorite artist.
Maybe I should start looking for another pair of HP because HM5 won't fit this kind of music or just make a more sober conclusion after pairing them with Dragonfly? (-:
I heard a lot of nice words about German Maestro GMP 400 as they have a beautiful musical sound. But they are 300Ohm, so I worry if Dragonfly AMP could handle them.

I have not heard the Dragonfly but I find that the Fiio E11 with the bass bost on 1 makes the HM5 a lot more fun. I also find them to work well with the Nuforce udac2, I actully enjoy them most with the udac2 feeding the E11 from the rca out. I don't like them at all through my Little Dot 1+.

I think that they sound pretty good with the udac2 headphone out as well (they udac2 really is a little "magic box") but I think they sounds better when the E11 is fed by the rca out on the udac2.

My ears just get tired very fast when listening to them through the LD 1+, maybe I just dont like the match,

I just bought the udac2 (actually two of them) the other day and have not yet paired it with the LD 1+, maybe that will be better than pairing it with my Adavanced Acoustic MDA503 (that is with the HM5, I really like this combination with all of my other cans).

Just letting everyone know, my HM5s sound FANTASTIC with the Schiit MAGNI and MODI. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by headsounds 

Just letting everyone know, my HM5s sound FANTASTIC with the Schiit MAGNI and MODI. 

How did it sound before and with what DAC/AMP?

I didn't have an amp or dac before. With the magni and modi, the HM5 becomes truly neutral, and instead of having a very laid-back presentation, the music now has character, and wow factor. 

The first time I put the HM5s on, I was completely amazed at what I was hearing in all the songs I've heard before. (They are my first pair of "hifi" headphones)

The same difference in overall sound quality I found then, occurred again when I added the magni and modi to the HM5s. In EVERY genre!

I bought these with the intent of using them as my portable cans. I'm in the military, so I travel very long distances fairly often (more often than I like sometimes). 

I got them yesterday and they sounded good out of the box initially. Then I made the mistake of comparing them side-by-side with my modified Fostex T50RP. I decided almost right away to return them, but to my surprise (and dismay), I will have to pay return shipping back to Hong Kong because the headphones aren't defective. If it was spelled out like this on MP4Nation's website, I wouldn't have taken the risk of buying them without listening....

So, my new project is going to be modifying these to get rid of the weird cavernous sound they produce and try to make them a little clearer. If I hadn't compared them to the Fostex I probably wouldn't have had TOO much to complain about... lesson learned.

Quote:

Originally Posted by campj 

I bought these with the intent of using them as my portable cans. I'm in the military, so I travel very long distances fairly often (more often than I like sometimes). 

 

I got them yesterday and they sounded good out of the box initially. Then I made the mistake of comparing them side-by-side with my modified Fostex T50RP. I decided almost right away to return them, but to my surprise (and dismay), I will have to pay return shipping back to Hong Kong because the headphones aren't defective. If it was spelled out like this on MP4Nation's website, I wouldn't have taken the risk of buying them without listening....

 

So, my new project is going to be modifying these to get rid of the weird cavernous sound they produce and try to make them a little clearer. If I hadn't compared them to the Fostex I probably wouldn't have had TOO much to complain about... lesson learned.

Exactly how I feel about them and same exact shipping issue. My biggest problem is vice like grip. Stretching them doesn't work as they will work themselves back to the original shape. I have maybe less then 5 hours on mine. I don't even know if I can sell them on the Canadian audio market without taking a massive loss.

At least the pads are awesome for my CALs!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hailin 

 

Exactly how I feel about them and same exact shipping issue. My biggest problem is vice like grip. Stretching them doesn't work as they will work themselves back to the original shape. I have maybe less then 5 hours on mine. I don't even know if I can sell them on the Canadian audio market without taking a massive loss.

 

At least the pads are awesome for my CALs!

I have the same problem with the vice like grip, I've had them about a year and the clamp never went away. I wish I returned them honestly. They also don't sound that great. They aren't bad, but I wouldn't say they are that good either. They lack definition, detail, and are on the dark side. They just don't stand up to my DT 990s or K240s.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kman1211 

I have the same problem with the vice like grip, I've had them about a year and the clamp never went away. I wish I returned them honestly. They also don't sound that great. They aren't bad, but I wouldn't say they are that good either. They lack definition, detail, and are on the dark side. They just don't stand up to my DT 990s or K240s.

When you think the DT990pros can be had for almost the same price as the Brainwavz you really start to question your purchase.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hailin 

When you think the DT990pros can be had for almost the same price as the Brainwavz you really start to question your purchase.

Yeah, exactly. I find the DT 990s an underappreciated headphone. The AKG K240 is another one, there are many others that are somewhat overlooked and some are completely ignored. People know they are good but downplay them some reason and push headphones that simply aren't as good. I've become skeptical of headphones with excessive amount of praise. Some are good and some I wonder why people like it so much. Very few highly praised headphones I think deserve the praise they get. I find the headphones with too much praise tend to be more in the cheaper range and called giant killers or said to rival the more expensive ones when they don't even come close.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kman1211 

 

Yeah, exactly. I find the DT 990s an underappreciated headphone. The AKG K240 is another one, there are many others that are somewhat overlooked and some are completely ignored. People know they are good but downplay them some reason and push headphones that simply aren't as good. I've become skeptical of headphones with excessive amount of praise. Some are good and some I wonder why people like it so much. Very few highly praised headphones I think deserve the praise they get. I find the headphones with too much praise tend to be more in the cheaper range and called giant killers or said to rival the more expensive ones when they don't even come close.

A very good lesson to have under your belt here around head-fi. I read comments/reviews with a pretty skeptical mindset. I ALWAYS look at the reviewer's history to see 

1. What equipment they own / how much experience they have

2. If they were provided these as a demo unit

Quote:

Originally Posted by elwappo99 

 

A very good lesson to have under your belt here around head-fi. I read comments/reviews with a pretty skeptical mindset. I ALWAYS look at the reviewer's history to see 

 

1. What equipment they own / how much experience they have

2. If they were provided these as a demo unit

+1. I also to try to read multiple opinions on a headphone as well. Like movie and game reviewers you eventually find a writer you follow because your tastes are similar. First hand experience trumps all. That is why I have learned a valuable lesson buying from MPnation. Return policies above all else.

Quote:

Originally Posted by elwappo99 

 

A very good lesson to have under your belt here around head-fi. I read comments/reviews with a pretty skeptical mindset. I ALWAYS look at the reviewer's history to see 

 

1. What equipment they own / how much experience they have

2. If they were provided these as a demo unit

Yeah, I find there is a lot of bias here on this site, so one has to be wary. Some people have rose-colored glasses or I should say ears when it comes to some headphones. I always either owned the headphone, tested them at the store, or tried out my friend's headphones. I've figured out my sound preferences finally, it's quite varied but somethings I can't overlook in sound. The Brainwavz HM5 was one of my mistakes that was influenced by this site, the HM5's are okay but not worth the price, the other mistake influenced by this site was the Sennheiser HD 555, which was quite bad imo, all it did well was soundstage and comfort, build quality is horrendous and the overall sound was grainy, oddly bloated, and lacked detail. Thankfully now I can try headphones easily before buying.

Everyone who made remarks after my post, please go back in time one week and re-write everything you just wrote. I will read your posts, not buy the HM5, use my money for a portable amp, and all will be well. 

Seriously though, I modded them and they sound better. Not super, but worth $100.