shockdoc
Headphoneus Supremus
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Brainwavz S5 IEM Headphones Review
- Thread starter dragon2knight
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kova4a
Headphoneus Supremus
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I'll most likely include a short comparison with the S5 in the R3's review, which I'll probably get down to write tomorrow or this weekend. But overall, R3 is more balanced, more natural sounding, has better bass and better highs
Loquah
Headphoneus Supremus
Review completed and posted: http://www.head-fi.org/products/brainwavz-s5-in-ear-headphones/reviews/11647
Baycode
Headphoneus Supremus
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I like to contribute as well
S5 Review:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/735923/brainwavz-s5-a-review-by-baycode
S5 Review:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/735923/brainwavz-s5-a-review-by-baycode
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Adding my review to the pile.
http://www.head-fi.org/products/brainwavz-s5-in-ear-headphones/reviews/11650
http://www.head-fi.org/products/brainwavz-s5-in-ear-headphones/reviews/11650
sfwalcer
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^
Are ya'll ready for some hypin'!!!
Are ya'll ready for some hypin'!!!
Loquah
Headphoneus Supremus
Just tried the S5s with my old iPod Nano toady for gym duty, but the sound was not a good match between the 2. Looks like the S5s play better with smoother sources like the X5.
sfwalcer
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thatBeatsguy
Headphoneus Supremus
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sfwalcer
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Brainwavz S5: Sonic Ear Candy That Almost Hit The Sweet Spot.
Now that the preamble is outta' the way lets get down to the nitty-gritty shall we??? Most importantly how do these Brainwavz sound and preform on a technical as well as an emotional level in their music rendition. The first thing that immediately jumps out at you with these S5s is their clarity despite being pretty bassy sounding. These IEMs have very good micro detailing and clarity from their mids all the way to their upper registers. At first I thought there was some harshness and sibilance from their highs but it turned out that it wasn't really the case after I tested it with some of my more aggressive sibilant prone tracks. The highs on these S5s are pretty well extended and is near sibilant levels but not quite there yet. The SZzzs are no doubt emphasized but I would not say it is overly harsh, bright nor sibilant but it has a tendency to lean towards that direction. With more careful listening it seems that their upper-mids, by this I mean when brighter/aggressive sounding instruments are in the recordings that's where a lot of the harshness occurs. Despite the general mid-range resolution of these S5 is very good with clear micro detailing and definition, the lack of smoothness of the upper-mids which makes it sound strident and splashy seems to be the culprit of their sibilance. Therefore if the upper-mids of these S5s are made smoother with better control it will no doubt add to a more refined sound.
Speaking of refinement, the bass of these S5s also can use some more finesse. Initially I thought the bass end of these S5s were on the soft side and still do to some extend, but it also has this explosive quality to them. Bass depth is pretty good but overall bass quality is lacking in texture, which leads back to my feelings regarding the bass as somewhat on the softer side. With these S5s you don't really get that visceral sensation from the lows cuz it just doesn't carry that satisfying slam, impact, nor rumble that great quality bass is able to do. What I mean by "visceral" sense of bass is that it hits and bounces off your eardrums with great ease/finesse (with great weight and texture to it but is never fatiguing) due to its tightness and punch from the mid bass, then followed by a deep throaty rumble in the sub bass that carries a lot of texture in which you can literally hear is what I would describe as great bass depth and quality. The bass on these S5s has that deep rumble and good depth but lacks the texture due to its softer sounding qualities, hence it lacks the visceral sense to it. Also the mid bass has this slower/rounder quality to it therefore, it somewhat bleeds and you can hear their bloat in many tracks where it shouldn't show up if it had tighter and quicker impact/control. The overall bass quality of these S5s is lacking a bit for my personal preference despite their adequate quantity.
What is not lacking is the overall mid-rang resolution of these S5s because that was what surprised me the most. I honestly did not expect these S5s to have such good resolution and clarity in their mids. Lushness and micro resolution almost arrivals that of the VSonic GR07 BEs in forwardness and sounds very Balanced Armature-esque in details. I would not say these are you "classical" V-shape sounding IEMs per se because they are pretty balanced across their sonic spectrum. Instrumental separation is very good as well, but soundstaging can use some more width and height, cuz it is only average at best. Speaking of soundstaging, this leads to the second part of the review; scalability.
The Brainwaz R3s on the other hand sang as if it had never sang so beautiful before. Off of the X5/C5 combo, the soundstage became A LOT wider with much better instrumental separation/layering and overall more spacious sound. I was able to hear nuances much easier due to such a more atmospheric sound, hence the refinement of these R3s just went up another level with such a upgrade in sources. I had this exact experience with my VSonic GR07 BEs as well because like the R3, the GR07 BEs off of the X5/C5 combo is the best I have heard it ever sounding even besting that of my trusty Audinst MX1 amp/dac and Schiit Vali amp. Therefore to me the R3 is a more refined audiophile quality IEM, while the S5 is more of a consumer grade variant that is sonically capped and doesn't change much even with better sources. I would say the R3s is easily one level higher than the S5s in sonic refinement and sophistication/ tuning due to the reasons above.
The R3 isn't entirely free of faults as I have wrote in this comparo cuz the S5 is miles ahead of the R3 in terms of ergonomics/ ease of use, also with better mid-range resolution/ micro detailing. The mids/micro detailing of the R3 can use some fullness to it cuz it is not as lush nor is as forward as the S5 in that regards and can sound a bit hollow at times. If Brainwavz is able to tune the mids/micro detailing R3 to that of the S5 (without their strident upper-mids) while keeping all the other aspects of the R3s sound (minus their horrid ergonomics/fit of course) Brainwavz would seriously have a true sonic gem in their hands. The R3s with a fuller more lush mid-range in the housing of the S5 would be a killa' combo fo' sho cuz those R3s have so much going for them sonically.
Observe below:
The S5s housing fits much better than that of the R3s due to it's smaller size and different design. Proper seal it MUCH easier as the result no matter the type of ear tips used, but the pill-shaped housing is still somewhat long, hence it still makes my ears a bit sore after a hour of use due to it touching the inner back of my ears. The big bulky housing and crazy long memory wire of the R3 is surprising comfy for me now when I wear them this way as depicted below. So THANK GOODNESS I was able to finally find a way to wear these R3s without constantly having to fiddle with their fit/seal. : )
vs. 
The "tentacle" design language of both the S5 and R3 is pretty similar, and before I got these S5s in I had expected their chunky Y-splitter to be on the heavy side as it was the case with the R3s. But thank goodness that despite they are indeed bulky, they are very light so I actually have no problems with it. The flat cable is a bit on the fat side as well, but it is also pretty light and is of very good built quality. The tube-esque cables of the R3 on the other hand is not only fat, but heavy and rubbery as well so they bounce around a lot more than that of the S5s especially when on the go. In terms of design/ergonomics the S5 bests that of the R3s hands down. For future choice of flat cables though I would advice Brainwavz to look into the ones used in the Sony XBA-3/30s cuz they have one of the best soft and malleable flat cables I have came across so far.
vs. 
^
So it all boils down to would I recommend these Brainwaz S5s at the end of the day??? I would recommend them IF one is looking for an active life-style portable IEM that is built like a tank and likes a bassy sound signature with great clarity in their mids and good isolation. Like free samples in a candy shop, I personally would not pay $100 for them due to the fact that there are other IEMs that bests these S5s in both sonic/ technical capabilities for even less these days. These S5s would no doubt make for a fun listen if one is just looking for something that is musical without over analyzing too much on the fidelity of the music rendition. Like free candy though it is sweet to sample it but probably would not buy it after tasting it unless I was floored by how AMAZING it was. These Brainwavz S5s nearly hit the sweet spot for me but sadly no cigar due to some of the small sonic flaws that is holding them back.
These Brainwavz S5s have been gaining a lot of attention here at head-fi due the share amount of reviews that has been posted on them of late. Majority of the reviews were very positive which piqued not only my interest but curiosity in them as well. Funnily most if not all of the reviews that has been written were from review samples so my initial reaction was like, man Brainwavz sure is passing these S5s out like it was free candy but has anyone even bother purchasing them??? haha I was like hmmm maybe I can get in on this piece of sweet S5 action as well and was contemplating about contacting a Brainwavz representative here at head-fi to get a free review sample in. I don't really like to ask for review samples much because I have done it a few times without much success, therefore was hesitant to take the proactive steps and just slept over the idea. All was not lost cuz outta' the blue I received a PM from one of Brainwavz head-fi representatives to see if I was interested in giving their S5s a fair shake. I wasn't sure if it was my recent review of their Brainwavz R3s which caught their attention but I was more than glad to get these in for free to review them. So on that note I would like to thank Audrey "Salsera" from Brainwavz for inviting me to be a reviewer of their new Brainwavz S5 IEM and the entire Brainwavz team for their hard work in creating them and making this happen!!!
Now that the preamble is outta' the way lets get down to the nitty-gritty shall we??? Most importantly how do these Brainwavz sound and preform on a technical as well as an emotional level in their music rendition. The first thing that immediately jumps out at you with these S5s is their clarity despite being pretty bassy sounding. These IEMs have very good micro detailing and clarity from their mids all the way to their upper registers. At first I thought there was some harshness and sibilance from their highs but it turned out that it wasn't really the case after I tested it with some of my more aggressive sibilant prone tracks. The highs on these S5s are pretty well extended and is near sibilant levels but not quite there yet. The SZzzs are no doubt emphasized but I would not say it is overly harsh, bright nor sibilant but it has a tendency to lean towards that direction. With more careful listening it seems that their upper-mids, by this I mean when brighter/aggressive sounding instruments are in the recordings that's where a lot of the harshness occurs. Despite the general mid-range resolution of these S5 is very good with clear micro detailing and definition, the lack of smoothness of the upper-mids which makes it sound strident and splashy seems to be the culprit of their sibilance. Therefore if the upper-mids of these S5s are made smoother with better control it will no doubt add to a more refined sound.
Speaking of refinement, the bass of these S5s also can use some more finesse. Initially I thought the bass end of these S5s were on the soft side and still do to some extend, but it also has this explosive quality to them. Bass depth is pretty good but overall bass quality is lacking in texture, which leads back to my feelings regarding the bass as somewhat on the softer side. With these S5s you don't really get that visceral sensation from the lows cuz it just doesn't carry that satisfying slam, impact, nor rumble that great quality bass is able to do. What I mean by "visceral" sense of bass is that it hits and bounces off your eardrums with great ease/finesse (with great weight and texture to it but is never fatiguing) due to its tightness and punch from the mid bass, then followed by a deep throaty rumble in the sub bass that carries a lot of texture in which you can literally hear is what I would describe as great bass depth and quality. The bass on these S5s has that deep rumble and good depth but lacks the texture due to its softer sounding qualities, hence it lacks the visceral sense to it. Also the mid bass has this slower/rounder quality to it therefore, it somewhat bleeds and you can hear their bloat in many tracks where it shouldn't show up if it had tighter and quicker impact/control. The overall bass quality of these S5s is lacking a bit for my personal preference despite their adequate quantity.
What is not lacking is the overall mid-rang resolution of these S5s because that was what surprised me the most. I honestly did not expect these S5s to have such good resolution and clarity in their mids. Lushness and micro resolution almost arrivals that of the VSonic GR07 BEs in forwardness and sounds very Balanced Armature-esque in details. I would not say these are you "classical" V-shape sounding IEMs per se because they are pretty balanced across their sonic spectrum. Instrumental separation is very good as well, but soundstaging can use some more width and height, cuz it is only average at best. Speaking of soundstaging, this leads to the second part of the review; scalability.
S5 vs. R3
Compared to the Brainwavz R3 these S5s are without a doubt a more consumer grade, less refined product in most aspects besides their better ergonomics and mids/micro detailing/resolution. I say this because it is evident in the sources that I have fed both of these IEMs. The R3 sounds pretty good straight from my 4th gen. iPod nano, but once connected to the Venturecraft go-dap amp the sound is grander, bigger and has much better resolution that is more nuanced. When I first tested these S5s straight out of my iPod nano it sounded pretty good, so I then hooked the Venturecraft go-dap amp to it and was surprised that the sound did not change all that much (though it does sound better with the go-dap amp than straight out of the ipod nano). These S5s don't take that much power to drive, hence the iPod nano's internal amp was more than enough to drive them loud enough. I recently acquired a Cayin C5 amp and a FiiO X5 and this combo almost makes everything I have sing beautifully due to the fantastic DAC of the FiiO X5 and the sweet amp of the Cayin C5. I was surprised that despite with such an amazing sources these S5s sounded pretty much the same as off of my Venturecraft go-dap amp/ iPod nano combo, which was disappointing to say the least. Actually it might have sounded slightly better off of the go-dap amp/nano combo than the X5/C5 setup.
The Brainwaz R3s on the other hand sang as if it had never sang so beautiful before. Off of the X5/C5 combo, the soundstage became A LOT wider with much better instrumental separation/layering and overall more spacious sound. I was able to hear nuances much easier due to such a more atmospheric sound, hence the refinement of these R3s just went up another level with such a upgrade in sources. I had this exact experience with my VSonic GR07 BEs as well because like the R3, the GR07 BEs off of the X5/C5 combo is the best I have heard it ever sounding even besting that of my trusty Audinst MX1 amp/dac and Schiit Vali amp. Therefore to me the R3 is a more refined audiophile quality IEM, while the S5 is more of a consumer grade variant that is sonically capped and doesn't change much even with better sources. I would say the R3s is easily one level higher than the S5s in sonic refinement and sophistication/ tuning due to the reasons above.
The R3 isn't entirely free of faults as I have wrote in this comparo cuz the S5 is miles ahead of the R3 in terms of ergonomics/ ease of use, also with better mid-range resolution/ micro detailing. The mids/micro detailing of the R3 can use some fullness to it cuz it is not as lush nor is as forward as the S5 in that regards and can sound a bit hollow at times. If Brainwavz is able to tune the mids/micro detailing R3 to that of the S5 (without their strident upper-mids) while keeping all the other aspects of the R3s sound (minus their horrid ergonomics/fit of course) Brainwavz would seriously have a true sonic gem in their hands. The R3s with a fuller more lush mid-range in the housing of the S5 would be a killa' combo fo' sho cuz those R3s have so much going for them sonically.
Observe below:
The S5s housing fits much better than that of the R3s due to it's smaller size and different design. Proper seal it MUCH easier as the result no matter the type of ear tips used, but the pill-shaped housing is still somewhat long, hence it still makes my ears a bit sore after a hour of use due to it touching the inner back of my ears. The big bulky housing and crazy long memory wire of the R3 is surprising comfy for me now when I wear them this way as depicted below. So THANK GOODNESS I was able to finally find a way to wear these R3s without constantly having to fiddle with their fit/seal. : )
The "tentacle" design language of both the S5 and R3 is pretty similar, and before I got these S5s in I had expected their chunky Y-splitter to be on the heavy side as it was the case with the R3s. But thank goodness that despite they are indeed bulky, they are very light so I actually have no problems with it. The flat cable is a bit on the fat side as well, but it is also pretty light and is of very good built quality. The tube-esque cables of the R3 on the other hand is not only fat, but heavy and rubbery as well so they bounce around a lot more than that of the S5s especially when on the go. In terms of design/ergonomics the S5 bests that of the R3s hands down. For future choice of flat cables though I would advice Brainwavz to look into the ones used in the Sony XBA-3/30s cuz they have one of the best soft and malleable flat cables I have came across so far.
^
So it all boils down to would I recommend these Brainwaz S5s at the end of the day??? I would recommend them IF one is looking for an active life-style portable IEM that is built like a tank and likes a bassy sound signature with great clarity in their mids and good isolation. Like free samples in a candy shop, I personally would not pay $100 for them due to the fact that there are other IEMs that bests these S5s in both sonic/ technical capabilities for even less these days. These S5s would no doubt make for a fun listen if one is just looking for something that is musical without over analyzing too much on the fidelity of the music rendition. Like free candy though it is sweet to sample it but probably would not buy it after tasting it unless I was floored by how AMAZING it was. These Brainwavz S5s nearly hit the sweet spot for me but sadly no cigar due to some of the small sonic flaws that is holding them back.
Cotnijoe
Sponsor: iFi AudioFormerly with Unique Melody
Woah! Is that how the R3 were designed to be worn??
If so I've fcked it up and never worn it properly
If so I've fcked it up and never worn it properly
thatBeatsguy
Headphoneus Supremus
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^WOW.
Da Masa' Toll has dunnit again!
And only right after I was hyping about your review!
Da Masa' Toll has dunnit again!
And only right after I was hyping about your review!
sfwalcer
Master Troll
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Woah! Is that how the R3 were designed to be worn??
If so I've fcked it up and never worn it properly
^
nah that was just how they fit me the best, it wasn't meant to be worn that way. I just invented a better way/ made it better.
^WOW.
Da Masa' Toll has dunnit again!
And only right after I was hyping about your review!
^
Thanks for spreadin' the troll gospel much appreciated.
Loquah
Headphoneus Supremus
^
Are you sure about that???
Um, yeah?
I used the X5 and X5+E12DIY for my review and the S5s consistently sounded very good with those setups, but the Nano with the S5s just sounded too brittle and forward in the lower-mid treble. Perhaps a tip change would help, but I just took my SE846s instead.
Cotnijoe
Sponsor: iFi AudioFormerly with Unique Melody
^
nah that was just how they fit me the best, it wasn't meant to be worn that way. I just invented a better way/ made it better.
I see haha... well its a pretty damn smart way to do it. Would have explained why the R3 had such damn long ear guides (though i believe they changed it?)
I feel that im pretty late to the party at this point... But i'll be posting my own thoughts on the S5 very soon
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